Contracted
by Typhlosion8
Summary: Teetering on the brink of death, a voice gives Lucy Heartfilia a choice: Move on from this world, or join a new one. Knowing that she won't live to see the sunrise, she agrees to the latter, and is the first human to become a Celestial Spirit. But her key is stolen by a dark wizard, and Lucy is given the chance to see firsthand the dark truth of being in a contract with a mage.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there, it's me, Typhlosion8!**

 **I keep starting to write** ** _Fairy Tail_** **stories and then never actually do, but this one I have a good feeling about. Fair warning, the rating may go up. Depends on how ambitious I feel. :-/**

 **Shout out to ChocoChipKitty, who got me addicted to this crazy show. Thanks to her, I went from watching the English dub to the English sub to reading the manga as it updates every Monday in all it's black and white glory. If you couldn't tell, that last part was sarcasm. Black and white is annoying!**

 **Because it may not be obvious, here's a quick walkthrough of the letter styles:**

Anything Normal Looking = Normal Writing

"Speaking"

 _Italics = Thoughts_

 _ **Bold Italic Underline = Telepathy**_

Underline = Spells

 **Disclaimer:** **No, I don't own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters. If I did, I'd steal away Loke, Jellal, Wendy, and Mest. Those guys are my favourite characters!**

* * *

 _._

 _What do I do now?_

 _What I know in my heart is right?_

 _Or what my owner demands?_

 _._

 _._

 _._

One Week Earlier

The guild was quiet. Anyone who walked in there expecting a fight would have been shocked, because Fairy Tail is always fighting over something, and don't really care who was right. A brawl is a brawl.

But today was different.

Today one of their own would leave them forever.

Natsu had come back from the mission he'd taken with Lucy and Happy a couple of hours ago, Happy hovering over his friend looking distraught and Lucy limp in the fire mage's arms, Natsu's vest, having been removed, soaking up the blood pooling from a wound in her abdomen.

He'd yelled for Wendy, and things seemed to be going well for him that day, because the girl was going to go out on a job but had been caught up in some things she needed to get done and postponed leaving until the next day. She had been sitting in the guild hall, chatting with Gray and Erza when he'd arrived, and had jumped out of her seat to get to the blond wizard he was holding.

The Fairy Tail mages had been in an uproar, asking about what happened and trying to help in any way they could. Mirajane, with the help of Gajeel, Erza, Levy, and Gray, managed to get everyone away and lead Natsu and Lucy upstairs to the infirmary, Wendy trailing behind hurriedly.

An hour later, with the sky outside getting dark, Wendy had told the rest of Team Natsu, who had been waiting outside the closed doors of the ward, that the blonde had stopped bleeding and her wound was gone, but she wasn't getting better. The wound was infected with a dark magic that was slowly killing her from the inside, and Wendy couldn't stop it. In fact, she didn't even know what could.

And with a shaky, solemn voice, Wendy told them that Lucy would be dead by morning.

* * *

One by one, her guild mates came to see her, many of them breaking down into tears. The guild hall was being smashed by Natsu, and none of them had the heart to stop him. Finally, he just collapsed onto his knees and sobbed, unable to deny the truth. Lucy was gone.

Now, there was just silence. None of them knew what to do. The Master, who had found out soon after when he questioned all the ruckus, was just sitting at the bar, his face a blank slate. Mavis Vermillion, the resident ghost, was sitting quietly next to him.

It was probably about one in the morning when two figures shimmered into existence.

One was a man with soft orange hair wearing a crisp black suit, complemented by a red tie attached to his collar and a pair of blue glasses. The other was a pink haired woman in a maid's costume with chains on both wrists. They were well know as two of Lucy's most powerful Celestial Spirits: Loke and Virgo.

Natsu, who like almost everyone else hoping for a miracle at this point, got off the floor where he'd been kneeling in silence and gave a small smile.

"Loke! Virgo! You've come to save Lucy, right?"

Loke's face was dark, hidden by his bangs, and he didn't answer. Instead, he walked up the stairs towards the infirmary, Virgo following him in silence.

Lucy was resting on a plain white bed, covered in a simple white blanket. She was still unconscious, and had been since before Natsu had brought her to the guild.

Loke sighed, and Virgo stayed outside the room, shutting the door behind him. The medical ward was empty, except for her. Her keys and whip were next to her on a counter. The key pouch was speckled with red, but with a wave of his hand and a bit of magic, the keys were shiny and the pouch was spotless. The whip vanished.

"I had hoped that this would never happen again." the lion spirit said sadly. "Seeing you here, so still, it's enough for me to break down into a rage and destroy the guild hall. It would be ashes right now if it wasn't for my own self-control and Virgo's assistance."

Lucy didn't respond.

"We've come here together in the place of the Spirit King, who is unable to come. He has shared some of his power with me, temporarily. It had to be me. I'm the strongest of the Zodiacs. I can handle it for just a little while. You'll have it soon enough, anyway."

He began to glow, not golden like he usually did when powering up with Regulus's power. No, it was a pure white colour, it's sheer power enough to have any wizard cowering on their knees, blind and paralyzed in terror. A pure white magic circle formed underneath the bed. Loke's eyes changed to a shining gold colour.

"I hope you're ready."

* * *

Lucy knew she was dying. Even in her unconscious state, she could feel her magic power slowly draining with her life force.

Everything was pitch black, but she could occasionally hear voices. She'd heard Erza when she told her that she'd take care of her keys and her letters, which had the blonde thanking her in her mind. She'd heard Gray as he tried not to but eventually began to cry, mentioning how he couldn't bear to lose another person he held dear. She'd heard Levy openly sobbing, not even managing to speak. She remembered Happy as he promised to never forget her.

And she heard Natsu as he darkly promised that he'd get revenge on the wizard who'd done this to her.

But now there was nothing.

 _So this is the end?_

And then she heard Loke say something, mentioning the Spirit King, and how he couldn't bear to see her so still.

 _I don't want to be like this either, Loke._

And then there was a white light in the darkness, shining.

 _Am I passing on?_

 ** _"Lucy Heartfilia. You are one of the most powerful Celestial Wizards there has been in over a century. But now your time in Earthland is finished. Because of this, you are being offered the opportunity to do something the Spirit King has never allowed before."_**

 _What? What do you mean?  
_

 _ **"You must choose now. Move on from this world, and leave the living, or join a new world, and become one with one of the magical world's most mysterious and complex branches of magic. Beware the price of either choice."**_

 _B-Become one with magic?  
_

And a sudden desire to not let go hit her. She wasn't ready to leave this world.

 _I'll join your new world._

* * *

As Loke heard her final words, he smiled.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself, and then repeated the spell the Celestial King had told him.

"I am one with the stars and planets. 

The most powerful magic of the heavens shines down on me. 

Now, a new constellation joins the sky.

Polaris, let a new spirit become one with the night. 

Ultimate Celestial Magic: Stellar Light!"

* * *

Later, the wizards downstairs would describe the power they felt as ancient magic, rolling through the air, weighing down on them all.

"What's going on?" Gray asked. Erza didn't have an answer for him.

Natsu ran upstairs towards the infirmary, but was blocked by Virgo, who was guarding the door. Erza, Gray and Wendy came soon afterwards, only to meet the same sight.

"Sorry, but you mustn't enter the room right now. Punishment?" she said, her monotone voice irritating the Dragon Slayer.

"What's going on? What's happening in there?" he asked, his question more of a demand, but Virgo wasn't affected.

"Big brother is doing a last resort spell right now." she said.

"Will it save Lucy?" Gray asked the spirit, who didn't reply.

A light was seeping out from behind the guarded door, looking strong enough to knock it off it's hinges, yet Virgo held it in place.

And then, like someone snapped their fingers, it was gone.

After a couple of minutes, the doorknob clicked, and Loke stepped out of the room, Lucy's key pouch in one hand. Virgo bowed.

"Did it work, big brother?"

He gave a simple nod of his head, and Virgo replied with her own.

"What happened in here, Loke?" Erza asked the spirit.

He sighed.

"Something dangerous and untested. But it worked, I believe."

Opening his other hand, which had been clenched at his side, he revealed a single gold coloured key. It was a simple key, having a plain bit and shaft. But the head was shaped like a heart, and the meaning of the key came quickly to Gray and Erza, who gasped in shock. Natsu, however, didn't get it.

"You healed her? Is she awake?" Natsu didn't even wait for a response. He quickly got around the lion spirit and entered the room, only to be confused by Lucy's disappearance.

"Where is she?" the fire mage questioned, spinning around to face Loke, looking suspicious.

Erza spoke for him, because Loke was looking tired.

"Natsu, Lucy isn't here anymore. She's a Celestial Spirit now."

* * *

Loke and Virgo walked together towards Makarov, who turned to greet them, giving a respectful nod. Mavis also gave a half-hearted wave, but only Loke saw her because of the Fairy Tail mark on his back.

"Makarov, I'm sorry to say I probably won't be here for a while. That amount of time depends on many things, but that doesn't matter right now."

Loke's words had Makarov fearing the worst.

"Loke, Virgo, is there anything you can do for Lucy?" he asked the Celestial Spirits. Virgo nodded.

"It has been done. Princess will not die." she said, and the master felt relieved.

"That's wonderful news. Is she awake?"

Loke shook his head. "Virgo is correct in saying that she will not die, but Lucy isn't the same anymore."

He held out the key pouch to the master.

"I trust that you will keep these in your possession until a suitable wizard is found to take care of them."

Makarov accepted them uncertainly.

"Can Lucy no longer use magic?"

Loke handed Makarov the golden key. The older wizard studied the mysterious key.

"She won't be opening our gates anymore. Her contracts were severed when the spell was completed. You could say this key is Lucy's new number."

As the words hit the third master, he looked back at Loke and Virgo in shock, but they had already vanished into golden sparkles.

* * *

As soon as she agreed with the voice, she was blinded by the white light. It completely enveloped her, and she suddenly felt awake, but even as her eyes opened, the bright light didn't go away. It began to burn her, but her eyes wouldn't close and although she thought it impossible, the light grew even brighter.

The burning feeling wasn't too different from Natsu's flames. It was starting on her skin and sinking into her body. The burning was getting stronger and stronger, and it wasn't stopping. She felt like she was being roasted alive.

The light was taking on a slightly gold tint, and then, as it started to weaken, she felt a cool sensation running through her, warding away the pain. But as the feeling continued, she felt less and less of her body.

She couldn't stop it, though. It was chilling her entire body, and then, as she finally felt numb, the light vanished and she was able to glance the Fairy Tail infirmary before her vision went black again, but this time, it was different.

Suddenly, feeling started to return, and Lucy blinked, carefully stretching her body. The burning pain she had felt was gone, and so was the feeling of her magical strength being sapped away. In fact, she felt stronger than she'd ever felt before.

 _Maybe this is what Natsu felt like when he entered Dragon Force..._

And then she focused on her surroundings. Everything around her was in rainbow hues, and there were glittering crystals dotting the land. The scenery was a dark blue, and stars were glowing in the sky. Strange colourful star shapes were floating around too, and the ground below her was marble tile. She was standing in the middle of a marble plaza, and benches were scattered around it. A star was carved into the marble tile below her.

 _I'm back in the Celestial Spirit world._

* * *

 **Now, before anyone asks, Lucy will not become a human again. She is a spirit, and she'll be staying a spirit. Her time as a mortal on Earthland is over.**

 **Anyway, what did you think? Please, leave a review or PM me! I'd love to know!**

 **Goodbye for now,**

 **Ty8**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey guys! Ready for some more Fairy Tail? Just make sure that when you're reading, you turn the lights on in the room! And don't sit too close to the computer!**_

 **I was bored, so I'm posting this chapter. Why not?**

 **Another thing I didn't mention, if there's shipping, it'll probably be LoLu or, if my story takes some weird unexpected turn on it's own, possibly NaLu. Definitely no romantic LoAr, and _NO NALI_ because I never really liked either ship.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own Fairy Tail, sadly. If I did, Erza and Jellal would have kissed in that one scene and then turned it into a lemon.**

* * *

Almost immediately after Loke and Virgo vanished, Makarov got up and rushed up the stairs towards the infirmary. There, he was met with a shocked Gray, Erza, and Natsu. The three of them explained what happened there, and Makarov checked the room to be certain, but the bed was empty, the sheets puffed up, looking like someone had been there but suddenly disappeared.

The Master then went to his office, where he got out his Communication Lacrima and called the Sabertooth guild. They were the only know guild with another Celestial Wizard in their ranks. If they were ever going to talk to Lucy again, they needed someone to summon her.

* * *

 _I'm back in the Celestial Spirit world._

For a few seconds, the thought just echoed in her mind, over and over again.

Then she began to freak out a bit.

"How is this happening? I'm a human! Wearing normal clothes! Why aren't I dying?"

A tiny hand tapping her leg got her attention. Looking down, she saw her tiny white dog Spirit looking up at her curiously.

"Puuu Punn?"

Smiling, she picked him up into her arms. Having him with her made her feel a little bit better. "Hey Plue. Are you surprised to see me here?"

He nodded. Lucy felt calmer. "I sure am. Where's a helpful Celestial Spirit to explain things when you need one?"

A sudden idea struck her.

"I'll summon one here!" Lucy cried out, and Plue nodded with a tiny grin.

With one free arm, she reached down to her waist, only to find her keys gone.

All curious thoughts about the Spirit World were gone with this revelation.

"My keys... they're gone. Where are my keys?" she asked, and she suddenly started to have trouble breathing. Plue wriggled out of her arms and began making worried noises as he looked up at her, shivering nervously like always.

Lucy sank to the ground, her arms supporting her as she tried to calm herself down. But she couldn't breathe.

Her keys were everything to her. What would she do?

"Breathe, Lucy. Deep breaths."

Loke's voice came with a hand on her shoulder, but his presence made the thought of her missing keys all the more unbearable.

"Loke- I lost- the keys. I-"

He kneeled down in front of her, both hands now on her shoulders.

"Breathe. It's okay. Your keys are safe. Breathe."

The Lion Spirit's words registered in her mind somewhere, and she started to take even breaths. Next to her, Plue was mimicking her actions and breathing with her.

Finally, she let one more breath out.

"Okay, I'm okay. Loke, please tell me what's going on."

He gave a distressed frown.

"I think it'd be better if you heard it from the Spirit King instead."

* * *

Loke watched as she shakily got up onto her feet. Plue was welcomed back into her arms and after a couple more breaths, she nodded at him, and he led her down the pathway towards the Celestial Spirit World.

Technically, they were already in the Spirit World, but none of the other Spirits referred to where they were as part of their world. Instead, it had numerous titles, depending on the Spirit and their owner.

To most, usually to the ones not contracted, it was simply called "The Gate". To some Spirits, like Loke, Virgo, and others treated kindly by their key holders, "The Gate" was more like "Recovery". It was where they went when they were sent back, whether by dismissal or that they weren't strong enough or their owner couldn't hold them in Earthland for any longer. When they returned, the Spirits would wait there, sometimes collapsed on the ground as they regained power, slowly becoming strong enough to move around, first to a bench to sit, then eventually, back to their home.

But Loke, much like Aries and others, had been on the other side. When your master didn't care for you, or used you like a human shield, you naturally became different. One thing that seemed to change was that the Spirit in question would either loathe or fear "The Gate". To them, it was a sign that they were weak, that they couldn't fight for enough, and that they would probably be punished later. Many darkly nicknamed it "The Plaza Of Failure". He'd comforted Aries in that very plaza many times as she shook in tears, apologizing to the master she couldn't please.

"Loke? You've been quiet for a while now." Lucy said cautiously. He stiffened. _He didn't realize that he'd spaced out. How long had he walked with her silently like that?_

"Sorry Princess. I was just thinking. Were you worried?" he asked her, giving her one of his cheeky smiles.

She crossed her arms and looked away.

"No, I was just wondering. Carry on." she said, showing disinterest. Loke laughed, a real smile on his face now. He really missed her. Lucy always seemed to cheer him up. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him.

 _She almost died, you know,_ a part of him whispered. _She would have been gone._

 _But she didn't, h_ e reminded himself. _She's okay now, and she will be forever._

* * *

Far away, back in Earthland, a guild hall is hidden deep in a forest, out of sight from the Magic Council. This building is worn down and a complete mess, covered in graffiti, mud, and the occasional ominous looking bloodstain. The building reeked of old trash and something moulding. Inside, a dreary gloom darkened the mood of all who were under the guild hall's roof. This place was the dark guild, Shadow's Claw.

Although not well known throughout Fiore, the guild was definitely not authorized by the Magic Council, and a handful of them had been snatched by the Law Enforcement Units. The Council advised legal guilds to stay away from it until more information about the dark guild was known.

The only person that matters here though, is a dark haired Celestial wizard well known for the way he can sneak in and out of a house and relive it of it's valuables in less than an hour, never alerting the people within to his presence. He has three powerful Silver Keys that help him with this. This man has many nicknames, but his name is Darius. Like many wizards in dark guilds, he's never revealed his last name, so information on him is limited.

"Who's house are you snatching from tonight, Darius?" one mage asked his guild mate. The two of them were sitting alone at their guild's bar.

The wizard sitting next to him shrugged.

"Dunno. Wherever I end up."

His friend grinned. "There's rumours that Fairy Tail's Celestial Wizard was killed recently."

Darius scoffed.

"And your point is, Marcus?"

"She was said to hold 10 of the 12 golden keys of the Zodiac. Add those to your collection, and you'd be unbeatable." Marcus said.

Darius looked slightly intrigued.

"Well, I guess I'm heading towards Magnolia tonight." he said, a sly grin lighting up his face.

* * *

Lucy couldn't help but look at Loke's world with awe. She'd been here before, but never this deep into their world. It was indescribable.

Every house was different, each one defined by the Spirit living within. The Spirits lived in neighbourhoods of sorts, different Silver Keys living in different areas. Plue happily pointed towards a large area where over a hundred tiny houses were, each one inhabited by a Canis Minor Spirit. She put him down, and he ran away towards the cheery place, meeting up with different Nikoras that had to have been his friends. She watched him go and smiled as he and all the other Spirits shivered in their nervous way together.

Soon, the houses started to become fewer and fewer, until Loke pointed to 12 large buildings in the distance. _Oh, the Zodiacs. They must have special houses._

She could name each one of her Spirit's homes as she and Loke got closer.

Aquarius's house was like looking at a transparent glass castle that had been flooded. She could see all sorts of tiny sea creatures roaming through it, and certain rooms were hidden behind tall kelp plants to give her privacy.

Virgo's house was a surprise. It was a simple white mansion-like building, but Lucy was sure the inside was a different story. Across from it was Taurus's house, which looked more like a battleground than a home. There was a regular-sized house behind a completely destroyed field, and you could see the indents in the ground where he had swung his axe too hard and hit the earth.

Next to his house was Sagittarius's. It was similar to Virgo's in design, but there were red targets painted on the surrounding trees, the wooden fence, even the house itself. Arrows were sticking out of odd places too. She was pretty sure one was sticking out of the doorbell, which looked like an electrical hazard. Sparks were shooting out of it dangerously.

Aries's house was obvious. The ram had made her home out of an enormous clump of wooly pink fluff. From it's design, Lucy was sure you could probably just walk in on any side, and Cancer's home looked like a hair salon off the streets of Magnolia. Seeing it reminded her of home, and the thought worried her. _How was she still here?_

Gemini had two identical homes side-by-side, and besides the rope ladders leading into them, they were both connected by a wooden bridge that allowed access to each others impressive treehouse. The sight made Lucy giggle. Her Spirits were unlike any others.

Scorpio's home was hidden by a sandstorm too thick to see past, while Capricorn's house was a mansion almost identical to Lucy's old home, the Heartfilia one. The sight brought tears to her eyes.

Loke's palace, as she dubbed it, probably had a regal-ness to it at one point. There were lion statues next to tall iron gates, but past that, it was a strange combination, almost like he himself couldn't choose. The front doors were tall wooden ones, and although the back half of his house was a pure gold, the front had taken on a few familiar traits of the guild hall. There were tailed fairies next to a banner with the Fairy Tail symbol on it, and the front of his home looked like an exact copy. The parts that weren't the pure golden colour had taken on a strange golden glow, making his home look like an odd lightbulb sticking out in the Spirit World.

But while all 12 of the houses were in two opposite lines, Loke's, as their leader, wasn't at the end like she expected. Instead, there was a manor taller than anything she'd ever seen before in her life, and another marble plaza was in front of it. There, standing in all his royal glory, was the Spirit King.

When the two of them finally reached the marble area, Loke stopped moving, and released her hand, standing still in front of the King. Lucy continued to walk, unfazed.

Finally stopping near his boots, Lucy looked up at the Celestial Spirit King.

"Hello again, Stache-Face! How are you doing?" she asked, giving him a smile.

He nodded, giving her a small smile in return.

"I am well, old friend. But I'm sure you must be wondering what is going on right now?" he replied, and she frowned.

"Yes, Loke said you'd explain better. Explain what? Can you tell me why I'm here?"

The Spirit King sighed. "I bend the rules again and again for you, Lucy Heartfilia. This time, I may have overstepped my boundaries. I interfered with the natural cycle of life."

"Yeah, I went from dying to being here. What did you do to heal me? I'm human, so I thought your magic would be too dangerous to use on me." Lucy said, and the King backed her up.

"Yes, our magic is different than human magic. You would have burned into a crisp from the power of our Celestial Magic. That is why I had Leo do what he did first."

Loke shuffled uncomfortably behind her.

"What did he do?" Lucy asked slowly. Her mind was slowly putting the pieces together, but she needed him to say it. He _had_ to say it.

The Celestial Spirit King looked right at her, his face making a strange expression. Was it worry?

"You've become a Celestial Spirit now, old friend."

* * *

 **Okay, to be honest, I told myself "Either describe all the Zodiac houses or none at all." and then I felt like I couldn't just not describe them, but then they ended up being a long tedious task as I tried to make them interesting. Please, if you didn't like it (I felt unsatisfied), think of it as a slip up in my writing. One day when I'm famous I'll rewrite it. ;-)**

 **See ya!**

 **Typhlosion8**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter 3!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Fairy Tail. If I did, Natsu wouldn't be the one to defeat the bad guy _every time._ Seriously, I know he's supposed to be the main male hero and everything, but you make Erza S-Class and then let Natsu wipe out seemingly every major villain! Erza vs. Jellal, and Natsu jumps in! Mystogan vs. Laxus, and Natsu ends up dealing the final blow! Zero just happens to be in his lacrima spot in the Oracion Seis arc too! Fairy Tail vs. Master Hades, and Natsu ends up being the saviour! I'm really getting tired of it. Let the others have a turn!**

* * *

Across Fiore, Sabertooth was in a ruckus. A brawl had been started behind the guild hall by none other than Sting Eucliffe, the current Master. It was a battle started by Rufus Lore foolishly arguing with Sting about who's stronger. Sting had more stamina, but Rufus believed that he could fight different opponents better, to which Sting said "I'll just destroy them with my Holy Breath!"

This began a battle between the two wizards, and almost everyone in the guild at the time was outside to watch.

Rogue, as amusing as he found Sting fighting over something stupid like this, decided to stay inside and help get Sting's work done. The blond haired Dragon Slayer did almost no paperwork, and it was usually Yukino and himself filling it out and handing the papers over to Sting for him to sign.

As he was completing a small pile of Sting's forms (this particular batch was a note from the Magic Council requesting payment for the building Sting had accidentally destroyed on a mission a couple of weeks ago. Rogue swore, the more Sabertooth hung out with Fairy Tail, the more habits they picked up from them, and mostly bad ones.)

Nearby on the desk, the Communications Lacrima began to glow. Rogue tapped it, and the Fairy Tail master's face appeared.

"Hello Master Makarov." he said calmly.

 _"Hello there Rogue. Is Sting there? I have very important business to talk to him about."_

Rogue shook his head. "No, he's outside. Rufus and him started a fight over who's stronger."

 _"Could you do me a favour in his place then? I need to speak to Yukino. It's urgent."  
_

Rogue nodded. "Yes, I'll go get her. Please wait a moment." he said politely, before excusing himself and going downstairs towards the back door.

Yukino was cheering Sting on, and was surprised to have Rogue tap her shoulder and tell her that Makarov from Fairy Tail wanted to speak to her. She followed the Shadow Dragon Slayer upstairs into Sting's office, where Makarov was waiting on the other side of the lacrima.

"Hello Master Makarov! Is something the matter?" she asked.

 _"It's complicated, Yukino. There was a problem and we now need your magic to help us."_ Makarov replied.

Rogue frowned.

"But Yukino is a Celestial Wizard. Don't you have a Celestial Wizard in your guild?"

Yukino's face fell. "Is Lucy away on a mission or something?"

Makarov seemed to age as his face darkened.

 _"I might as well explain everything to you. Lucy was fatally wounded on her last mission. Wendy tried her best, but there was dark magic at work, killing her from the inside. She wasn't going to live much longer."_

Yukino gasped, and Rogue's eyes widened.

"Is she dead?" the Sabertooth girl asked, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks.

 _"Not quite. It was the middle of the night when two of her Celestial Spirits appeared, Loke and Virgo. They didn't say a word. Loke locked himself in the infirmary and Virgo blocked the door. All I know is that there was a pulse of magical power, ancient and powerful. The two of them appeared to me and gave me all of Lucy's keys, along with this."_

Makarov held up a normal sized Celestial Gate Key. It was golden coloured and plain, but the end was shaped like a heart.

 _"From what I've pieced together, Lucy has become a Celestial Spirit."_

* * *

It seemed like pure idiocy when Rogue stepped in between Rufus and Sting and halted their battle. As the crowd dispersed, Sting growled.

"What are you doing? I was in the middle of-"

Rogue silenced him with a look. It made the White Dragon Slayer shiver.

"Yukino is needed at the Fairy Tail guild, and I am going with her. You are coming with us. Pack and meet us at the train station in half and hour."

And with that, Rogue left, leaving Sting with his mouth wide open in complete surprise.

* * *

Explaining to situation to the rest of the guild in the morning was difficult. It was like going in circles.

"So Lucy's really a Celestial Spirit now?" Levy asked the question they always seemed to get back to.

"Yes. We've already gotten ahold of Yukino from Sabertooth to summon her. Until then, this key is it." Erza said stiffly, holding up Lucy's golden key.

Slowly, things went back to normal. Guild members started drinking and chatting and grabbing job requests again.

"Who would have saw this coming?" Mirajane asked the only one sitting there, Cana, from behind the bar.

"None of us. Still, this is better than the alternative. I'd rather have Lucy an immortal Celestial Spirit and be drinking beer today than having a solemn funeral out there instead and everyone miserable." the brunette replied.

Across the room, Lisanna was wondering about the Celestial World to others at her table.

"Well, when we went there, it was colourful and magical." Levy told her. "There were stars everywhere!"

Elfman stood up from his seat at their table.

"Becoming a Celestial Spirit is manly!" he yelled.

"Lucy isn't a man." Gray pointed out as he sat down with them. Juvia immediately appeared and sat next to him, swooning and fantasizing about her and her Gray-sama's romance.

"Gray, your clothes!" Lisanna cried out, and the Ice Wizard swore as he looked around for his missing articles of clothing. Erza came out of nowhere and handed them to him, along with a scolding about his stripping habits. She then joined their now-crowded table.

"You know, Loke was able to open his own Gate over and over again, from what Lucy told me." Levy mused. "Do you think Lucy will be able to do so as well?"

"Loke is also the strongest Zodiac Spirit. Lucy might not be as powerful. We'll have to wait and see." Erza said calmly.

* * *

As Loke led the way around, Lucy felt her heart racing. Things were happening so quickly. They were finishing up a quick tour of the places in the Spirit World. For the most part, you had the freedom to do anything you wanted. The only exceptions were that your couldn't bother the Zodiacs or the Spirit King without an invitation or it being an emergency.

Although it had only been about 15 minutes there, it felt like she'd been away from Fairy Tail for hours!

"Loke, do you know how long it's been in Earthland since I was there?"

He hummed in concentration for a few minutes, before shrugging.

"Celestial Time is hard to measure. I'd say about 10 hours. It's probably 10AM, since we picked you up at 1 in the morning."

 _Wow, I knew time moved slower here, but 10 hours?! If I spend even a full day here, that's three months!_

"You'll get used to it, Lucy. I can remember being summoned over and over again in one day to find that you were in completely different places and different enemies and different fights. It's just another part of being a Celestial Spirit." Loke said, almost like he knew what she was thinking.

They were quiet again for a few moments, before Lucy asked another question.

"Loke, why did coming here feel so painful? There was a burning sensation, and it was very uncomfortable. Do you know anything about it?"

"I have a theory." he replied. "See, you were a human before, and now you're a Celestial Spirit. When Spirits are sent back, we vanish in a wave of golden sparkles. When we're injured, we begin to fade away in those same sparkles, right?"

Lucy nodded, listening closely.

"Well, when you were human, you would bleed blood, not fade into gold. The burning pain was probably your body being changed so that you could properly vanish like I do. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be able to be here either, since our atmosphere is different from Earthland's too, so you would have suffocated. If you had stayed human and been summoned into battle, losing would have meant you would bleed everywhere instead of returning here. You needed to be converted."

"And the cool numbing?" Lucy mentioned.

"That's just what it feels like to vanish. Another thing you'll get used to as a Spirit." Loke told her.

They were silent again, and it was awkward. At one point, Loke glowed for a few seconds, almost like he was being notified of something. He wouldn't tell her, just said she'd know in due time.

Finally, Loke pointed towards a small pink house. It stood alone, floating in the open space of the Celestial World, and she could see all sorts of shapes and colours out here. A simple marble path led to her new home, similar to the ones she'd walked on before.

"This is your house. Your Spirit friends picked it while we were exploring and told me where to go. I think they picked out a good spot, don't you?"

Lucy was trying not to cry. Her Spirits really cared for her, and this act showed it once again.

"Also, since you're a Celestial Spirit and I'm currently your supervisor, I have to ask you what you'd like to have your specialty be so I can give you a weapon or tool of some sort. So tell me: what do you want to do as a Spirit?"

Lucy thought about his question carefully. This choice would be with her forever.

 _I've always wanted to be stronger, like Natsu and Erza, so some form of combat might be good. I want to be out there in the battle!_

"Loke, I'd like to be a Spirit that can fight. I want to be stronger, like you and Virgo and all my friends." she said.

He nodded. "In that case, I'll give you this."

He glowed before handing her... a key?

It was a bright bronze colour and had a symbol of a key where a constellation symbol would be. Curiously, she held it diagonally and swiped it like it was a knife. The key glowed and she accidentally shot a blade of golden energy at Loke, who effortlessly blocked with a glowing fist. He smiled at Lucy, who stared at the key with awe.

"That was... amazing! I felt this pulse of magic flow through me and focus through the key like when I used to summon you guys, except it turned into an attack!"

She then looked up at the Zodiac leader.

"Thanks for helping me get used to this world, Loke."

The Spirit grinned.

"Anything for my Princess."

* * *

The guild hall shut down at 12:00AM, and anyone left had been slowly ushered out by Mira. Anyone still there by 12:15 had been thrown out by her Satan Soul.

Unknown to all, a strange magical signature was within the building, but had no detectable physical presence. This magical signature belonged to a Silver Key Spirit: Chamaeleon, the Camouflager.

Chamaeleon was known for it's one Celestial skill: the ability to become one with it's surroundings. Almost no one, human, monster, or Celestial Spirit, could see him.

Right now, he was following his masters orders to find the rare keys he was searching for. They were the 10 golden Zodiac keys, out of a set of 12. Normal Silver Keys were difficult to find, so the chance of getting 10 golden ones was too good for his owner to let go.

The keys were supposed to be somewhere in this guild, but the question was where. After carefully checking most of the rooms on the bottom floor, Chamaeleon tiptoed up tot he second floor. There were six rooms up there, and the first three were empty. One office was stripped bare, the second had swords decorating the walls, and the third one had some marks where it looked like something had burnt parts of the furniture and walls. Some sort of fire or lightning magic, perhaps?

The fourth room was locked, and the fifth room seemed girlish in comparison to the others, and the final door at the end of the hall was ajar slightly, and a light was on. Carefully as to not blow his cover, the Spirit inched closer, finally reaching the door opening and peeking inside.

An old, short man was sleeping on papers cluttering his desk, which looked identical to every other desk Chamaeleon had seen that night. Next to him was a couple of books labeled _Keys And Their Meanings_ , _A Guide to Celestial Magic_ , and _A Relationship Between Spirit And Key: How The Magic Works_.

 _Is this old guy learning Celestial Magic? This has to be the room where the keys are._

Scanning the room, the Celestial Spirit looked for the familiar glint of metal, but stopped when he noticed the single key on the desk next to the old man.

Creeping forward, Chamaeleon picked the key off the desk, and smiled.

 _This was almost too easy! But I got a bad feeling about this place. I should abandon this mission and take what I've got._

He turned around, and was almost out of the room, when something grabbed him. A very strong hand was wrapped around him, somehow seeing him through his camouflage.

"Reveal yourself." the man's gravelly voice spoke, eerily calm.

 _I should have known this guy wasn't a pushover. Oh well. Time for Plan B._

As he returned to his normal form, Chamaeleon gave a bright flash of his Celestial Magic, startling the old guy. For a few seconds, he released him, but that was all that was needed to escape and dash out the door.

"A Celestial Spirit?!" the man shouted, and jumped up, racing out of his office to follow the now-visible Spirit who had, in a quick moment of daring, jumped off the second floor balcony and landed on the ground floor of the guild hall. The old man followed, but the Spirit was gone now, and any trace of him he'd had before had vanished.

* * *

Makarov growled angrily. Celestial Spirit or not, the only thing of any worth on his desk was the key he'd been studying last night: Lucy's. Unfortunately, he couldn't track him very well without at least one Dragon Slayer, and they were all asleep. He'd have to wait until morning.

By then, though, it might be too late.

* * *

 **That scene was a lot of fun to write. I could feel the danger of the moment as Chamaeleon snuck through the guild. I love writing scenes like that, where you can really feel the emotions and actions.**

 **Also, I had to convert Earthland time into Celestial time for this. I've got hour and minute approximates, so if you need to know the time difference for a story you're writing, PM me and I'll send them to you. :-)**

 **Anyway, please review or PM me and tell me what you thought!**

 **Ty8, signing off!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back! Let's just get this started!**

 **Disclaimer:** **If I did own Fairy Tail, it would revolve around a romance between Erza and Jellal, from how they finally get together to what their kids look like. Not this "I must punish myself and stay away from Erza and our Jerza ship because of my sins" crap he's been pulling.**

* * *

In the nearby forest surrounding Magnolia, the sunrise dyes the sky a beautiful mix of red and orange. In this light, a Celestial Spirit meets with his impatient key holder.

"You brought me one key? _One? How_ exactly were you thinking I'd react to this, _lizard?_ " he spat.

Darius was furious. His Celestial Spirit, Chamaeleon, brought him a strange key. He didn't recognize it, so it was probably a fake.

"It's gold, and any gold key is rare because you can't get them in magical stores! Summon the Spirit, then decide whether you're pleased or not!" Chamaeleon said quickly, eyes wide. Darius was quiet for a few minutes, before nodded.

"You are correct. Gold keys are rare. I guess it's time we summoned whatever this thing is. And you can go home."

Chamaeleon looked relieved as he vanished into golden sparkles.

* * *

While this was taking place, Lucy was wandering the Celestial World with Aries, who had shyly asked to go out exploring with her. Lucy happily agreed, and the two of them were exploring an area Aries said she'd visited many times. It was a quiet planet with a hidden path, almost like a secret spot.

Lucy sat, content as she looked at the starry view alongside the ram. Aries was a lot more comfortable in the Celestial World than in Earthland, not nearly as shy and apologetic.

Suddenly, she felt a pull within her.

"Aries? Did you feel that?" she asked. Aries shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry! What did you feel?" the ram replied worriedly.

"A tugging feeling inside me. Like someone is pulling at my magic." Lucy said. Aries gave a sudden smile.

"You're being summoned! This is so exciting! Tell me what happens when you get back, okay? I'll go back to your house and wait for you there!"

A feeling of flickering in and out of existence overcame her, and with a rushing feeling like Aquarius swamping her with a wave, she was pulled out of the Spirit World. A voice spoke in her mind. It was definitely male, she was sure of that.

 _"I call upon thee, in the world of the Celestial Spirits. I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the gate!"_

And then her feel materialized on solid ground, and a sudden feeling of weakness overcame her.

* * *

Being in Earthland was hard, like a weight pulling her down constantly.

Her outfit had changed to something else, probably the outfit she'd wear every time she was summoned. It was a dark blue top with speckles of gold, like the night sky. She also wore a black skirt with brown boots, similar to her other Celestial clothing.

Her weapon, the key Loke had given her, was attached to a keyring on a belt wrapped around her waist like her old one, along with her Fleuve d'étoiles. The most unusual part of her outfit was the fingerless leather gloves on both hands now, covering her guild mark.

Looking around, she realized that she was in a forest. The greenery completely surrounded her, and she could smell the wood. The human world was much more... _delicate_ than the Spirit World. When she was in Earthland, everything seemed to be so fragile, whereas in the Spirit World, anything damaged would eventually regenerate, just like the Spirits themselves. Here, stepping on a flower would mean that flower would probably wilt and die.

Things were so much different than before, that was certain.

Blinking, Lucy looked at her summoner. Her observation skills must have been boosted when she turned into a Spirit. He was around her own age, with dark hair and a scar going across his face from the middle of his temple to the edge of his jaw, grazing his eye, which was an icy blue. He wore a simple black vest, zipped up all the way, and dark blue cargo pants. A keyring dangled off of one of his belt loops, holding three Silver keys she'd never seen before. One hand was stuffed in a pocket, while the other held out a golden key that had to be hers.

Lucy looked around for any sign of her guild, any sign of her guild mates popping out and hugging her, but the woods were silent.

"So, who are you?" she asked with a cold tone. She was in a beginning to get a bad mood, and hoped that this summoner had some answers.

"My name is Darius, and I was hoping you'd be willing to make a contract with me." he said, quite kindly. If this was ever a case of judging a book by it's cover, Lucy felt like she was already coming off on the wrong foot with this guy. Despite his appearance, he sounded not too bad.

 _Your first summoner, and you've already made the poor guy feel bad!_

"Sorry," she apologized. "I was a bit rude there. My name is Lucy, although my summoning title is The Key Holder. I would be happy to make a contract with you, but first, could you possibly tell me if you've recently been in contact with the guild Fairy Tail? That was the last place I was before I di- returned to the Spirit World."

For a moment, something flashed across her summoner's face, but it was gone so quickly she was sure she imagined it.

 _Anger?_

Then his face changed to confusion.

"Fairy Tail? You mean the mage's guild? I've heard of it. Why?" he asked. She frowned.

"I had some human friends there. Do you know where we are right now?" Lucy asked. He nodded.

"Yes, we're near Hargeon. The Fairy Tail guild is in Magnolia, so you're pretty far away from it. I found your key here, actually. Being a Celestial Mage and seeing a strange key, I decided to summon you. Speaking of which, would you actually like to create a contract? I've never actually made a contract with a Gold Key, so this is pretty exciting." he said, and Lucy felt a little flustered and very confused.

 _Do I create a contract with him? On that topic, how did my key end up all the way near Hargeon? And where's Fairy Tail? Since they're not here, does that mean they decided to get rid of my key? It makes sense, after all, they don't have a Celestial Mage there. I was the only one. Did they decide that it wasn't worth keeping my key? What about my other keys?_

"Lucy?"

She snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was just... thinking about things. I'd actually love to make a contract with you. I haven't fought for anyone in a while." she said quickly, the small lie rolling easily off her tongue.

Darius smiled.

"Great! What times are you available?" he asked the Spirit. She grinned.

"Call on me anytime! I'm happy to help you out. Do you have a guild?"

He returned her enthusiastic grin. "I'm a member of a rather new guild. We're known as Shadow's Claw."

 _Shadow's Claw, huh? Sounds a bit shifty, but as long as they're legal, that's okay._

"Is there anything you want me to call you specifically?" Lucy asked. Her Spirits liked to call her Princess, but most just used the word Master.

"Master or sir will do. If we become close enough though, I may allow just Darius." he replied, and she nodded.

"Alright then, I will return to the Spirit World and await your call, _Master_." she said, and with a tiny bow much like Virgo's, she vanished into golden sparkles.

* * *

Darius gave a true smile, or rather, a smirk, as he laughed at the foolish Spirit. She'd fallen for his act, hook, line, and sinker, and now she was in an unbreakable magical contract. As long as he was breathing, she was under his control. And this Gold Key, "Lucy", intrigued him. He'd never heard of "The Key Holder" Spirit _or_ constellation.

But did it really matter? She was his Spirit, and he had things to do. Not to mention, he knew Fairy Tail would be on his trail pretty soon. If he wanted to still have his keys tomorrow, he'd start moving.

* * *

When Yukino, Sting, and Rogue arrived, the Fairy Tail guild was in complete disarray. Everyone was shouting things out, magic circles were being created, and a table was being tossed across the room towards them. Thankfully, Rogue blasted it to pieces with a Shadow Dragon's Roar. The magic also got the attention of the rest of the guild, and they all became silent as the trio walked over to the guild master, Makarov.

"Master Makarov, what's the problem? Why is everyone so... loud?" Yukino asked, trying to find a word to describe the guild's atmosphere.

Makarov sighed.

"It's complicated, Yukino. Last night, we had an intruder sneak into the guild after hours. The intruder snuck into my office and managed to escape me with a Celestial Gate Key."

Yukino gasped. "Which one? Lucy will be devastated!"

"That's the problem. Lucy's key was stolen." the master said. "And even more curious is that the thief was a Celestial Sprit, one I haven't seen before. It was nearly invisible to see."

The silence in the guildhall wad saddening. First they had lost Lucy as a guild member, and now they had lost her as a friend too. Her key had been taken, and who knew what would happen to it and her?

"Well, why aren't we searching for this Spirit? Can't we just smell it and follow the trail?" Sting asked. Rogue looked thoughtful.

"A Spirit should still have a scent to track. In theory, with 5 Dragon Slayers following it, we should find the Spirit and it's key holder." he mused in a quiet voice.

"We thought of that too, but the scent is all but gone. It was faint to begin with, but the Dragon Slayers couldn't find it once they left the guild hall." Erza said stiffly.

"So then what do we do now?" Yukino asked. None of them had an answer, and the gloomy atmosphere returned, but only for a moment, because Levy's eyes suddenly sparkled.

"There's only one other option. We ask someone who knows about Celestial Spirits and their owners!" she shouted out suddenly. "Why didn't I think of this earlier?"

Without even asking, she ran past everyone and up the stairs to the second floor. None of them dared move, too caught up in watching the bluenette as she dashed down the stairs just as quickly with something in her hand making a jingling noise. It was Lucy's keyring, and all 15 units clinking together.

Yukino seemed to catch onto Levy's train of thought, but everyone else just watched in complete confusion, until Gray finally called out to them.

"Hey, the rest of us would like to know what's going on!" he said, and was answered by Yukino getting into a summoning stance. Levy told them to all back up, and Yukino spoke in a confident voice.

"I call upon thee, in the world of the Celestial Spirits. I beckon you to my side at once! Pass through the gate!"

* * *

 **Sorry about the shorter chapter. I've been having a lot of projects to work on, and not nearly enough time. Read and review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! It's Ty8 back again, here with Chapter 5! I'm so glad people are loving this!**

 **I'll tell you one thing, this chapter is a good one...**

 **Please keep reading, and review! This chapter definitely deserves reviews! ^_^**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. If I did, things would be _very_ different... *smiles evilly***

* * *

With a golden glow and magic circle, everyone heard the signature doorbell ring as a Celestial Spirit was called through.

In front of them was a... sleeping Spirit?

"The Southern Cross, Crux. Lucy used him to find out information on Celestial Spirits and their owners. Maybe he can help us this time too." Levy said, unsure.

"Excuse me, Crux? Can you wake up?" Yukino said shyly. The Spirit jolted from his sleep, scaring the living daylights out of all of them.

"How may I be of service to you, madame?" he asked, turning to Yukino. Her cheeks flushed at the formal name.

"Uh, do you know of any Celestial Spirits who can turn invisible?" she asked, uncertain.

"I will do my best to find the information you need." Crux replied, and then fell asleep.

The guild members were looking confused, but waited for Crux to awaken.

* * *

Lucy was called upon an hour later, which made her grumble at first, until remembering that the time difference equalled about three days in Earthland, and didn't feel so upset.

Like an echo, she heard herself being summoned faintly as she was pulled into Earthland.

 _"Open, Gate of the Key Holder! Lucy!"_

The rush of an unfamiliar magic overcame her, and as she came into existence in another world, she realized that the magic she felt was her summoner's. And then she was there on solid ground, and feeling weak again.

 _Wow, I never realized how much effort it took just for my Spirits to stay here! And Loke did this for 3 years?!_

Her knees almost buckled, but managed to stay strong as she looked at Darius. He didn't look the same at all. The warm smile and easygoing attitude was completely gone, replaced with a cold look and hardened eyes.

"Follow me," he said, and began walking away from her. Lucy looked around, noticing the camp her key holder had set up. The forest that she was in wasn't the same as the other one from before. This forest was darker, and gave her the creeps. She hurried to keep up with her summoner.

"So, why did you summon me?" she asked his back. He didn't reply.

"Excuse me?"

"Master?"

"Hello?"

Darius was silent. She scowled.

"Well, you're rude." she said bitterly. That got his attention quick, because he halted and spun around. She was frozen as he stalked up to her and wrapped one of his hands around her throat, lifting her up.

 _What's going on!? What's he doing? Let me go!  
_

Darius growled under his breath.

"Did I tell you to speak?"

Lucy shook her head, the minute action barely noticeable because of her key holder's grip on her. Her eyes were wide in surprise and fear.

"Then you don't speak. Let me tell you the rules, because you're new. I am in charge here. You do what I say, when I say. If I say don't fight back, you don't fight back. If I say don't speak to anyone, you hold your tongue and stay silent, because you're _mine_. And if you don't, there will be hell to pay, got it?"

Lucy's brown eyes lit up with a fire, her passion leaking through the terror. Despite the tightness of Darius's hold on her throat, she managed to respond.

"I am a living being, not a slave." she said quietly, although the words didn't come out nearly as confidently as she wanted them to.

Her Master chuckled darkly, sending a shiver up her spine, and tightened his grip. Lucy gasped for air like a fish out of water. Although she was a Celestial Being, she did need to breathe air while in Earthland.

"Well, if you want to _stay_ living, _Lucy,_ you'll listen to me."

When he said her name, she mentally recoiled. It sounded awful coming from him, the name not rolling off his tongue like it did for her friends.

Releasing her, Lucy fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, coughing and taking in lungfuls of air. Darius began to walk again.

"We're on a mission. I thought it would be a good chance to test you out."

Nodding, she shakily stood up and caught up to him, but didn't dare step alongside him. Instead, she walked a few paces behind him, trying to seem inexistent. Things were already bad enough.

 _How could I be so stupid?_

* * *

The entire guild jumped when the Southern Cross yelled out as he awoke, but Yukino hurried to him.

"Crux, what did you discover?" she asked. The guild was quiet, holding their breath.

"Regrettably, I cannot tell you any extensive details, because personal privacy laws do apply to the Celestial World. However, there is a Celestial Spirit that can become invisible, and he's Chameleon the Lizard, and a Silver Key. He is nearly impossible to find when he doesn't want you to."

"Does Chameleon have a key holder?" Levy asked.

Crux nodded.

"Yes, but the only information I can give you is his name, which is Darius."

Master Makarov, who was watching, contemplated the information.

 _How do we find this guy?_

Crux vanished back to the Spirit World, leaving Fairy Tail with more questions than answers.

* * *

Darius was deep in thought, contemplating his next move.

He, along with his newest Spirit, were about 10 metres away from the wooden cabin nearby, and his "mission". Well, more like his next theft.

Inside the house was a man who was rumoured to own a few units, but his rarest key was a Silver one, Aquila the Eagle. It was rumoured to be able to fly it's summoner anywhere, even if they did not know the coordinates, but there was only one Eagle Key in existence. Darius wanted the Spirit for himself, but to get it, he'd have to kill it's current key holder.

A plan forming in his mind, he reached to his keyring and pulled out one of his own keys.

With a whisper, he pulled another Spirit into Earthland.

"Open, Gate of the Silver Wolf! Lupus!"

A flash of light appeared, and revealed an enormous silver dog. It was pure muscle, and meant to battle.

"Lupus, you'll be doing the fighting today. Wait for my command." he told the wolf, and the beast nodded, settling down to wait.

Turning towards the blond Spirit, Darius frowned. _She may be a cute Spirit, but she was becoming troublesome. This would be her last chance._

"Lucy!" he said, and she jolted a little from her sitting position. Turning towards her summoner, the blond gave a questioning look.

"Yes sir?" she asked.

Darius' frown got a little smaller. _She's learning. Good._

"You'll be distracting our target. What kind of magic do you use?"

She glanced at her belt, before pulling the maroon whip off of it.

"I can use my Fleuve d'Étoiles to help you out, if you'd like." she replied quietly, looking down at the ground.

Her owner scoffed.

"Fine. Let's go."

* * *

Lucy knocked on the door to the cabin, and it was pulled open by a kind looking man. He was getting on in his years, wrinkles forming at his eyes and mouth, but still seemed strong enough to be a mage. His blond hair was greying, but his eyes had a light in them, one that only a wizard would have. Someone who loved what they did.

Her mind was screaming at her to turn back, return to the Celestial World, but she couldn't! She was under orders! Even if stealing things was wrong, her owner wanted something this man had, and she had to help him steal it.

"Can I help you, young lady?" he asked her, and brought her back to reality. Lucy struggled to think of something, anything to distract the man. She might have mentioned her Fleuve d'Étoiles to Darius, but she wasn't going to actually use it. Not on this nice old man.

"Y-Yes, I heard you had a rare Spirit Key. My name is Lucy, and I'm a wizard. I was hoping you'd show me your Spirit, if you don't mind." she said, hoping he'd buy it.

The man smiled and stepped outside of his house, reaching for a keyring she'd just noticed was linked to the belt going through his pants.

"Well Lucy, my name is Howard, and I'd be happy to. Are you a Celestial Wizard yourself, Lucy?" Howard asked her. She shook her head hesitantly.

"No, but I'd like to be one. I've been searching for a Spirit Key for a long time now." she lied, and felt her stomach churn with guilt.

He simply nodded, and continued to fumble with the keyring.

"What do you think of Celestial Spirits, Lucy?" he said casually, and Lucy couldn't help herself.

"From what I've seen, they're amazing. They fight for their key holders and work as a team. I'd love to make a contract with one someday!" she said excitedly. Howard nodded again.

"Can a Spirit ever be a friend to you, Lucy?"

The blond girl nodded. "Of course. They're just like you and me, after all."

"I see." Howard said, and then held his keyring out to her. She looked at him, confused. He smiled.

"I'm getting too old to be a mage. I've been trying to find a Celestial Wizard to pass my keys along to, but none of the ones I've seen consider Celestial Spirits to be equal like you said. I'd like you to keep these, and put them to good use. You'll be a great Celestial Wizard."

She numbly grasped the keys in shock, counting the units in her mind. There were four keys on the ring. She recognized their signs.

 _Aquila the Eagle, Nikora the Canis Minor, Phoenix the Fire Bird, and Columba the Dove. Most of these are such rare keys, and he's just giving them to me?_

"T-Thank you, sir." Lucy said, dumbfounded. The keyring suddenly felt heavier, as Lucy realized that she was outright lying to this old man. She was a Celestial Spirit!

Then, with a flash of silver, Howard was on the ground, blood pooling from a fatally deep wound in his chest caused by a powerful claw. Lucy turned to see Lupus growling, red staining it's silver fur.

Gasping, the blond ran to the fallen wizard, hands covering the wound in an effort to help him.

 _Darius never mentioned killing him!_

"This is my fault! This is all my fault!" she cried out, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. Howard weakly shook his head.

"No, I knew who you were. You had a golden outline... a Celestial outline. But I knew... you'd keep my keys... safe. Be... safe..."

Howard's eyes went dull, and Lucy sobbed, her hands red with his blood. Lupus vanished back to the Spirit World as Darius strode over to her.

"Nice work, getting him to actually give you the keys. Now we didn't have to fight him."

Lucy's heart thumped faster as blood roared in her ears.

"You **_monster_**." she said, shaking in disbelief.

Darius smiled.

"Hand the keys over."

Her mouth moved on it's own. She spoke with more courage than she'd ever had before in her life.

" _No._ "

Darius growled at her angrily.

"Hand them over now, or I'll force you too."

An automatic instinct seemed to flow through Lucy, and she pulled the keyring with her only other magical weapon off of her belt and slid the other four keys onto the ring before throwing Howard's ring at Darius' head. He ducked, swearing something at her, but Lucy wasn't listening. Instead, she was watching the new keys glow a slight bronze colour, like a barrier overtop of them.

That bronze glow was the last thing she clearly remembered before her master's fist slammed into her jaw, sending her to the ground.

From there, things only got worse.

* * *

Loke smiled as his former owner began to reform in The Gate. He'd been waiting for her to come back so that he could talk to her.

Aries mentioned her being summoned that morning, so he went to find her. But she'd already vanished home by the time he got to the Gate, and then been summoned again by the time he got to her house. So he rushed to the Gate one last time in the hopes of meeting her this time. He wanted to know how she was doing.

But as she fully formed, he noticed that she wasn't looking good. In fact, she looked like she'd been in a fight. He grinned. _Leave it to Fairy Tail to get into a brawl when she arrives. Actually, it was probably just Natsu wanting to fight her._

But then he noticed the look on her face.

She wasn't smiling a happy grin after reuniting with her friends. In fact, she looked like she was in shock.

"Lucy?" he called out. "Are you okay?"'

Suddenly, her knees buckled, and she fell forward, crashing to the ground.

As he ran to her, trying to help in some way, Loke noticed the dried blood on her hands, the mysterious keys added to her keyring, and the scratches and bruises everywhere (and were those handprints around her throat?), looking worse than any from the Fairy Tail brawls he's been in.

But what really tipped him off was the vacant, dead look in her eyes, replacing the former spark they held.

 _Something's very wrong here._


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! It's me, Typhlosion8, back with another chapter of _Contracted_! I actually wrote this the day after posting the last chapter. I was on a roll!**

 **Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, shipping would be _much_ more canon than it is... *evil laugh***

* * *

.

 _But what really tipped him off was the vacant, dead look in her eyes, replacing the former spark they held._

Something's very wrong here.

 _._

 _._

 _._

As the pain was slowly sapped away and replaced with the warm, familiar power of the Celestial World, Lucy's thoughts began to emerge. She was still lying on the ground, but was strong enough to roll onto her back, and gaze at the stars in the sky.

The shuffling of feet got her attention, and she went into a panic.

 _He's here! Darius is here! He's come to kill me and steal the keys!_

Before she knew what she was doing, tears were streaming down her face, and she struggled to breathe, eyes shut tight.

"Lucy, it's me, Loke."

She didn't dare open her eyes, for fear of it all being a trick. Lucy just continued to sob.

She felt herself lifted and gently pulled into someone's ams, and she instinctively pushed and struggled to get out of the embrace.

"Lucy, what happened to you?" Loke's voice asked. She tried to answer, but there was a lump in her throat.

"Just breathe, okay. Take a deep breath and calm yourself."

Lucy managed to take in a small, rattling breath in between her cries.

"Lo-ke." she said, and he nodded.

"Yes, it's me."

"Don't leave me." Lucy said quietly.

"I won't leave you, Princess."

* * *

When she was strong enough to move into a sitting position, Loke convinced her to let him take her to his house. She eventually agreed, and he scooped her up into his arms.

 _If this was the old days, I'd be joking about being her knight, and she'd be telling be to move because some monster would be after Team Natsu. Now, I'm taking her to my home in the Celestial World, and she seems to be shaking from some sort of trauma. And I'm just silent._

He knew that at least a few of the Zodiacs noticed him as he walked along the street and into his home, Lucy in his arms. He didn't care either.

Locking the door behind him, if only to slow them down, he settled her on his dark orange couch. He picked it out specifically to match the one in his former apartment in Earthland, because that couch had fond memories with it. Days of hanging out with his friends, nights of passing out drunk, and mornings afterwards with terrible headaches.

Already, there was a banging noise on his door.

Ignoring it, Loke ran up the stairs of his home and grabbed the first blanket he could find, before running back down the stairs and wrapping it around Lucy.

The noise at the door was getting louder.

Exasperated, Loke sighed. "Come back later!" he shouted in the direction of the door, knowing that whoever it was would hear him.

Lucy was sitting up on his sofa now, the blanket swaddling her as she tried to hide from the world under it. Loke slumped down in the nearby armchair and looked at the blond with a pleading gaze.

"Lucy, please tell me what's wrong. I can't help if you-"

Cutting off his sentence was a loud rumble as a wave of water burst into his home from where the front doors used to be. Cursing Aquarius under his breath, Loke swiftly jumped up out of his seat. His fists glowed golden as he held one right in front of the centre of the upcoming flood, a golden magic circle forming.

 **"REGULUS IMPACT!"** he roared.

The lion's head that emerged forced all the water back from him and Lucy, although they weren't completely dry.

"Get out here Leo!" Aquarius' voice demanded from outside.

Loke stormed outside in a blaze of pure anger, coming face-to-face with the mermaid, along with Virgo, Aries, and Scorpio (who seemed to have been dragged over by his girlfriend) behind her.

"What? What do you want?" he seethed.

"I want you to stop womanizing and leave Lucy alone!" she replied coldly. Her response made him mentally stumble.

"W-Wait, what? You think I convinced Lucy to sleep with me?"

"Exactly!" Aquarius said, beginning to get angry. "I'm taking Lucy out of here, so don't bother her again!"

As Aquarius moved to get into his house, Loke grabbed her by the arm.

"You can't do that!" he said quickly. Aquarius scowled.

"Back off. I can do what I please." she said darkly, and her urn began refilling with water.

"No, you can't take her right now. You can come in, but please, don't take her out of here." Loke said, slightly desperate as he tried to argue with the Water Bearer.

Amazingly, she relented. "Fine, but you better explain why soon."

Nodding, Loke allowed the four of them into his now-destroyed house. They'd never been in his house, so being there was interesting, even if it was water damaged.

"Princess?" Virgo called out, scanning the long hallway.

"She's in the living room. It's over there." Loke said, pointing to the left. Nodding, Virgo went into the room, the others following.

"Lucy! Loke was looking for you all day!" Aries said, smiling as she ran over to the couch and sat next to her. Virgo followed, while Scorpio stayed in the background, and Loke was pulled into another room by an angry Aquarius.

* * *

"All right Leo, explain." the mermaid said. "If you're quick, I might not swamp this house in water."

Sighing, the Lion Spirit brushed a hand through his hair. His voice got a little more frantic as he spoke.

"She... she arrived at The Gate looking like she'd been in a fight. At first, I'd thought she'd gotten into a brawl with the Fairy Tail wizards, because they like to fight each other, but her hands were covered in dried blood, Aquarius. And she was bruised everywhere. There are handprint marks around her throat!"

Aquarius looked shocked. "What do you think happened?"

Loke shook his head. "I don't know. She won't tell me, and there's this broken look in her eyes that stares at me when I look at her! Something happened to her, and I don't have a clue. She won't speak a word."

Determination flashed in the Water Spirit's eyes.

"Leave it to me."

* * *

Aquarius came into the room slowly, looking as peaceful as any of them had ever seen her. It brought shiver to their very souls.

Signalling Virgo, she swapped places with the maiden, and turned Lucy towards her.

"Spill. Now. You've got Leo worried, and now you've got me worried too. Tell us what happened so we can fix it." she said calmly. Lucy looked away.

"You c-can't fix it. Just leave me alone, Aquarius."

The mermaid's patience vanished in the blink of an eyes.

"Do you _want_ me to drown you? Because I can do it!" she growled.

"Just go away! You can't break my contract!" Lucy shouted back at her, returning the glare Aquarius gave her perfectly.

But then she realized what she said, and the angry died out, replaced with her vacant look again.

"What contract? With a wizard?" Loke asked, stepping in. Lucy nodded silently, not looking him in the eyes.

"Who?" he asked. She shivered, then began talking in a distant voice, staring at the living room wall.

"H-He tricked me, you know. I didn't know he was a dark wizard. Seemed all nice the first time we met. But the second time was different. He nearly suffocated me, that first time. Said that he was in charge."

None of the Zodiacs said a word, growing numb. A dark wizard was trouble, and they all knew it. And they knew how her tale would end.

"I-I disagreed, of course, but Darius didn't like that. He tightened his grip on my throat before finally letting me go. I felt lucky to be released, strangely enough. Like he was giving me _mercy_." she spat the word out, her voice gaining a small amount of emotion before vanishing again.

She was quiet for a moment, as thought trying to decide what to tell them.

"The mission was simple. Steal the man's keys. They were rare ones. I was supposed to distract the man, so we made conversation. I lied to him about who I was. Howard was a nice man, but getting too old to be a Celestial Wizard. He gave me his only keys, all four of them."

She tapped the keyring on her belt, as if she was checking to make sure that they were there. The five keys on her belt suited her, almost like she was the old Lucy again.

"The guilt was a sudden crushing weight, because I'd never outright lied like that."

She was very quiet when she spoke next.

"Then the wolf attacked him. Lupus, Darius' Spirit. He killed him."

Lucy shuddered again, and a shaking Aries grabbed her hand.

"Then he asked for Howard's keys. I couldn't give him the keys. He was a _monster_. I said no."

Then Lucy chuckled, a dark, hollow laugh that scared them all, and chilled the room.

"He didn't like that either, as you can see."

* * *

Mirajane heard the shaking. Juvia felt it. None of them could have been prepared for the results though.

The kitchen sink exploded in a rush of hot and cold water, getting the attention of everyone, because the guild wasn't as loud as usual. They hadn't been since Lucy's key had been stolen.

Although curious, the wizards didn't think much of it, and Gray was about to offer to freeze it until they could fix it, but he never got the chance, because the water was suddenly surging into the main hall, causing shouts of alarm.

Juvia and Gray tried to stop it, but no matter what magic they used, it flowed. Almost like it was under _someone else's_ control. Even after the doors and windows were opened, it stayed in the guild, getting ever higher. The best Juvia could do was surround them all with bubbles to keep them safe, but even those threatened to burst under the magical liquid's power.

The water had risen to the second floor, seeping under the shut doors and _still_ rising. Master Makarov had just been saved by Juvia in his office (his paperwork ruined though) when a golden flash blinded them all. It was from Lucy's keys, which had been returned to the Master's office by Yukino yesterday.

Emerging in the water in the main hall was a _very _ familiar mermaid, who looked angrier than ever, especially underwater.

 _"I'M GOING TO DROWN **ALL** OF YOU FAIRY TAIL WIZARDS FOR LOSING LUCY'S KEY! YOU HEAR ME?"  
_

As the poor mages began freaking out in terror, another flash on the second floor revealed Loke, finally returning to their guild. He dived under the water and grabbed Aquarius around the waist, pulling her back, and whispering something in her ear that even the Dragon Slayers couldn't hear. Aquarius seemed to calm down ever so slightly, and with a wave of her urn, the water she'd forced through her gate vanished, although everything it touched was still soaking wet.

Erza, very bravely, confronted the Spirits.

"Loke, Aquarius, do you have any information on Lucy?"

Before Aquarius could begin yelling at the redhead, Loke put his arm in front over her, cutting off any response brewing in her. She frowned, but left to the Spirit World.

"Lucy's under a contract to a dark celestial wizard named Darius. She said his guild is called Shadow's Claw, and he definitely doesn't consider Celestial Spirits _'friends'_." Loke chuckled slightly at this.

"He's dangerous and a thief. He's got three other Spirit Keys and was last seen by Lucy in a dark forest, far away from any sort of city." Loke said, and Erza nodded.

"What about privacy laws? Crux couldn't tell us nearly as much as you just did." Natsu asked, his dark eyes betraying the emotion he felt about Lucy's predicament.

Loke had a grim look on his face.

"Crux is a Silver Key, bound by different things. I am the leader of the Zodiacs, and arguably the strongest Celestial Spirit out there. I am bound by few rules. In circumstances like these, the Spirit King bends rules. He agreed when I explained things."

"Things?" Levy repeated quietly. The Lion Spirit nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Lucy is important to all of us, and she's trapped in a contract to an evil man who considers his Spirits are property. She disagreed with him, and he punished her for her... _disobedience_."

Hushed gasps came from many of them when what he implied hit them.

"Now, we have to find Darius and convince him to break his contracts as soon as possible. Are you all with me?" Loke asked.

None of them said no. How could they?

"We can do this guys! FOR LUCY!" Gray shouted out.

"FOR LUCY!" the guild chorused.

"Let's kick some butt!" Natsu said, grinning.

* * *

 **And that ends Chapter 6. Please review, and keep looking forward to the next chapter! ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, Loke, Natsu, Laxus, and Rogue would be in a brawl over Lucy, while Gajeel and Levy eloped. ;-)**

* * *

Natsu was miserable. He'd hadn't felt so... _horrible_ in his life since Igneel disappeared on July 7, X777. He couldn't describe the overwhelming guilty feeling that consumed him the more he thought of Lucy. Everything went wrong the day they went for that job he picked out.

 _Flashback_

 _"Lucy! Happy! I've got us a job! Come on! Let's go!" Natsu called out to her across the guild hall. The girl sighed, while Happy flew into the air._

 _"Okay, but promise not to burn any buildings down this time, Natsu! I mean it!" she said angrily, but couldn't keep the smile off her face at the prospect of a new adventure._

 _"Please, Natsu is more likely to ruin Erza's cake than not burn something down," Gray said tauntingly._

 _"What was that, Popsicle Head?"_

 _"You heard me, Flame Brain."_

 _"BRING IT!"_

 _"YOU'RE ON!"_

 _Lucy groaned and sat back down. They'd be here for a while._

 _End Flashback_

The job was to fight a dark guild, and was definitely dangerous, but Natsu was eager to fight some bad guys, and Lucy wanted her share of the very generous reward ( _"They're offering 1,000,000 Jewels for this?!"_ ) for her rent. The guild was called Serpent's Fang, and they were causing trouble for the nearby village.

Things had been going well, and the three of them had tracked down the guild hall. Soon, they had defeated every wizard there and only person left to take out was the guild master. He was a scrawny guy, but agile and crafty. Natsu had been fighting him while Lucy and Virgo were tying up the other wizards with magic-cancelling rope, and Happy was rambling on about a fish he'd found for Charle.

The dark mage used a strange, darker form of Requip, or so Natsu thought, and he pulled out knife after knife in their fight, no matter how many times he melted the blades or disarmed him. And when it finally seemed like he had pulled out the last of his knives and was out, the guy leapt over him and went for Lucy, sending a pulse of some dark magic at him and knocking him to the ground. But he couldn't get back up, and was paralyzed as he watched Lucy fight the man.

He'd failed her.

* * *

Aries sat next to Lucy in Leo's damaged house, both of them silent. Aries was the only one of them left. After all, she was the only one of them besides Leo who knew what it was like to be treated worse than just a shield, to be thought of as someone's property. It was a terrible feeling that you never shook away, no matter how many years.

Even now, Aries couldn't help but apologize on automatic. She was afraid that, one day, she wouldn't, and her key holder would get angry.

So, she truly understood Lucy's new experience, and would try to be a support for her, just like Leo had been for her. It was what Spirits do.

* * *

Lucy felt herself being summoned again, the tugging almost painful. She gasped, trying not to go, trying to stay in the Celestial World, where it was safe, where she wouldn't be hurt.

Aries noticed, and cried out in alarm.

"Lucy! Fight it! Stay with me! I'll try to help you! Just force the gate to close!" she told the blond, and a new foreign magic channeled into her.

 _Aries is sharing her magic with me. I can't let her efforts go to waste! I'm staying right here!  
_

Closing her eyes, Lucy grunted with the effort it took to stay, and in her mind, she could see the golden door opening, and sent all the magic she had at it, hoping that it would stay closed. _Please, please, please stay closed!_

But it wasn't enough. She wasn't as powerful as the Zodiacs, and even with Aries helping her, she couldn't hold it shut much longer.

"I can't, Aries. I have to go through." she whispered.

Aries looked upset. "I'm sorry! I'm not strong enough as a defensive magic user! I'll keep trying though!" she said, and more power channeled into Lucy.

Lucy focused on the gate again. _Stay shut! Stay shut!_

She started to push it shut, ever so slowly. For a moment, she thought she could actually do it, but then a sudden pulse of magic from the other side swung it wide open, pulling her into it. She began to shimmer as particles of gold slowly faded into Earthland.

"Lucy! Don't give up!" Aries said, searching internally for some more of her magic, but she'd pulled all of it out to help her friend, and it wasn't enough.

Lucy suddenly released the air in her lungs, and the burst into gold that faded away to another world.

The last words Lucy heard was her pink friend crying out with apologies.

* * *

Darius was in a bad mood. He'd needed to use a lot of magic this time to summon her. She was resisting being pulled through. For a moment, he'd felt a bit of another magic, something stronger in the background, fuelling her.

She flashed into his dingy, tiny house all of a sudden, looking tired and worried about something. But Darius didn't care.

"You're late. What took you so long?" he asked, pretending to not know. She seemed to shrink a bit when he looked at her.

"I had to... uh, I needed to-" she stammered, trying to think of something.

"You were trying to stay in the Spirit World?" he offered.

"No! I-" she jumped in, but he shook his head, stopping her.

"I'll let it slide this once. Move, we're going to the guild hall." Darius said, and Lucy nodded frantically.

"Thank you, Master." she said, hating herself on the inside for actually using the term.

* * *

"The darkest forest I can find in Fiore is the Waas Forest to the north of Magnolia. It's far away from civilization. There are rumours of a man there who owns rare Celestial Keys. Lucy and her summoner where probably in that forest. There are also stories of a dark guild near there in the mountains. Little is known about it, but it's a place to start." Levy said to the small team going off in search of Lucy.

Of course, Natsu, Erza, and Gray had quickly volunteered to go when the Master asked who wanted to, and with the arguments they put up, Makarov eventually said they could go. After all, they'd go whether he gave them permission or not.

Along with them was Levy, who'd be their guide, Mira, who looked almost demonic when Master nearly declined her as well, and Gajeel, who'd had experience dealing with dark guilds and was a good choice. Joining the fairies was Yukino, who was there as a Celestial Wizard to summon Lucy later.

"Well, let's get going then. Pack your bags, guys!" Natsu exclaimed, and they all gave a hopeful smile.

* * *

Shadow's Claw was worse than Darius's house. If she had thought his home was the most disgusting place to ever exist, she was quickly proven wrong at the sight of the dark guild.

It was a faded building with paint peeling from the walls. The outside was filthy, covered in dirt, mould, and whatever the dark spots she noticed were, along with the blatant vandalism. There were signs of damage where people had probably fought and crashed into the guild hall, and some claw slashes that she hoped were from monsters.

Painted on the door was the only thing not damaged by weather or magic, a symbol. An image of a dark shadowed hand's talons leaving claw marks behind. Their guild mark.

Darius pushed the door open and walked through the hall, leaving Lucy on her own. She looked around the guild. It was tattered and looked like no one had taken care of it in a very long while. But her eyes widened as she noticed the old wooden floorboards. She hadn't seen floorboards like these since-

 _Flashback_

 _Lucy saw in the corner of her eyes the light shining off of a weapon, and she ducked as he swung at her._

 _"Virgo!" she called out, and the pink maiden ran over fight the wizard. But he avoided her and went straight for Lucy, who hurried to grab a key and summon another Spirit._

 _But she tripped on a wooden floor board as she backed up and fell to the floor of the guild hall as the mage whispered a spell under his breath before he stabbed her with the dagger. As it hit, she cried out in pain, but then shivered at the uncomfortable tingling coming from the wound. Although she'd never been stabbed, she was sure that she wasn't supposed to feel like that._

 _"Princess!" her Spirit shouted, and as Natsu roared out her name and Happy cried out, the man fled, but she was slowly starting to feel fuzzy and chilly. The knife in her stomach got much sharper in her vision as the other things around her became hazy. She noticed the black handle and coiled snake design wrapped around it, but really, she noticed the gleam of the silver metal sticking out of her, and the red staining it._

 _"Is this... the end for me?"_

 _End Flashback_

Pushing herself out of her memories, she noticed the cold sweat that coated her, and as she wiped it away, she realized that she was shaking.

A very drunk guild member walked up to her and tried to seduce her, but she quickly maneuvered her way away from him and ended up sitting at a bar stool at the edge of the bar and reminiscing of Fairy Tail and strawberry milkshakes.

Those thoughts were hastily broken when a rumbling noise shook the guild hall. Looking around frantically, she saw that everyone in the hall was just as shocked as she was, and had no idea what was happening.

Suddenly, with a flash of light, the building suddenly began to fall apart into pieces. The roof caved in, the walls turned into dust, and the furniture became broken and useless. The chair Lucy had been sitting on lost two of it's legs and fell over backwards, causing her to hit her head on the ground painfully.

Seeing stars, Lucy stumbled to get up and watched as the wizards around her began fighting something- _someone?_

Recognition flooded through her as she recognized the person, no, people!

They wore midnight blue cloaks that hid their faces, but she knew it was them as the Lost Magic demolished the guild hall. Arc of Time could rebuild broken things, but it could also speed things into the future. A future where the Shadow's Claw guild hall was abandoned and destroyed.

A familiar figure glowed with a golden light and sped through the room, knocking down mages faster than she could keep track of. Lucy smiled. _Crime Sorcière._

But Darius appeared out of nowhere behind her, and she flinched.

"Alright Lucy, time to help us beat some wizards. Fight for the guild." he said, sounding encouraging, but she could feel the underlying threat. _Defeat them or suffer._

Taking a deep breath, she ran forward, towards the wizard knocking out the dark mages, hoping that he'd recognize her and do something, _anything_ , to help her.

Instinctively, she reached for her keys, and grabbed the one that radiated a warmth. She'd practised a bit after Loke had given it to her that day, and was ready to fight, even if it was for show. After all, she did have to follow Darius' orders.

The key glowed, brighter than Jellal's Meteor, brighter than Loke's Regulus magic. It glowed a pure colour, a pure white with a hint of gold Celestial power.

Jumping up, she raised the key and swung it diagonally at the enemy wizard, crying out.

"STAR STRIKE!"

There was a flash, and he was thrown to the ground. Lucy landed in a crouch, still clutching the key in her hand with a death grip.

Jellal's hood had fallen off, and she could see his face now. He looked determined for about five seconds before his face scrunched up in confusion, and his stance went slack.

"Aren't you Erza's friend? Lucy?" he said, looking at her curiously. She nodded, allowing her own mask to slip and show her true desperation and fear. But it vanished quickly, and Lucy stiffly nodded at him.

Jellal looked upset for a moment, but then he put on a blank face and got back into a battle position. Making a motion with his hands, he suddenly jumped up into the air with Meteor again, and she watched as he flew in a pattern she recognized, a constellation.

"Lucy! Knock him down!" Darius yelled from farther away, and she shivered, before closing her eyes and speaking her ultimate spell.

 _Survey the heavens, open the heavens_

 _All the stars, far and wide_

 _Show me thy appearance_

 _With such shine._

 _Oh Tetrabiblos..._

 _I am_ _the ruler of the stars_

 _Aspect become complete_

 _Open thy malevolent gate_

 _Oh 88 stars of the heaven_

 _Shine!_

 _Urano Metria!_

As her own spell finished, and the planets she'd conjured clashed with Jellal's Grand Chariot, she felt herself feel a shift within, a sort of pride. She had done what her Master had said, and felt good about being able to help him. Even though she loathed the man, she felt her own nature as a Spirit overwhelm that and feel true joy for the first time in forever.

She had succeeded!

Her hate and anger started to fade away at this accomplishment. Sure, Darius could be cruel at times, but it was for her own good. She needed him to help her become better, a better servant to him, and any other owner she'd have in he future. She almost welcomed his corrections.

She just wanted to please him.

* * *

Jellal noticed the strange shift in Lucy's face, the sudden pride, then the determination. She looked like she actually wanted to fight him now, and this made everything even more confusing. When she'd attacked him, she'd looked scared and he'd assumed that she'd been taken hostage by Shadow's Claw, but now he wasn't sure. Maybe mind control?

She swung at him with her glowing weapon (was it a key?!) and got closer and closer to actually hitting him each time.

 _Think Jellal, think!_

The thought struck him, and his eyes roamed around the nearly destroyed room, trying to find the source of her control. If she was being controlled by another wizard in the hall, they'd be hanging back and controlling her from a distance, because mages that controlled others were usually poor at fighting themselves, which is the main reason they made others do it for them.

He noticed the man quickly, watching Lucy as she fought him. Glaring, Jellal activated Meteor again, and bolted towards the wizard, almost getting hit by Lucy again.

He appeared out of nowhere in front of the man, and punched him in the face, hoping the shock would break the connection.

But Lucy ran towards him still, and her demeanour wasn't any different.

 _Could she really be a dark wizard now?_

* * *

 **And that's it for now! Please, review, and watch for chapter eight! ^_^**


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy Friday, people! Here's me, Ty8, celebrating the weekend with a new chapter- wait, sorry. Technically, where I am, it's now Saturday. Whatever!**

 **I'm so sorry for the delay in writing this. The holidays got away from me, and I got too relaxed. My apologies!**

 **To the guest** _Evpastaen_ **, I'm sorry I took so long, but I was taking a break, not leaving it forever. Writers need time off too!**

 **As I wrote this chapter, I realized that I went off-canon last chapter. I won't say how exactly, in case you haven't read everything in the GMG arc, but I had both Sabertooth and the original Crime Sorcière in this story.**

 **Think about it.**

 **Yeah.**

 ** _I can't believe I did such a thing! And how could you people not tell me!_**

 ***cries in corner sadly***

 **So for the purposes of my story, we'll pretend that the Eclipse Gate didn't happen. Got it? Good. :-)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, Lucy and Rogue would be a canon pairing, and Frosh would replace Happy, 'cause that blue cat gets on my nerves...**

* * *

Darius scowled at the blue haired man who'd attacked him, but then smiled as his own Spirit fought him again, not giving an inch. She had seemed to suddenly shift in her personality, from stubborn to loyal, and he wasn't going to complain. As long as she did the job he asked her to, he was fine with the switch

Strangely, the blue haired man seemed hesitant to attack Lucy. Scared to hit a girl? No, he'd attacked both genders when him and his friends destroyed the guild and fought the wizards within. Something else then?

Looking at the man again, he noticed something in his eyes. Recognition?

 _He knew her._

From a past owner or something else, Darius didn't know, but he had a bad feeling. What if he tried to steal Lucy's key from him and return it to where he stole it from?

Being a Dark Wizard, he did what most of them would do in a dangerous situation: he decided to flee.

Backing up, he got as close to an escape route as he could, then called out to his Spirit over the noise.

"Lucy! Close your gate!" he said, and smirked as she vanished into gold sparkles in front of her opponent's eyes. Not waiting to be attacked, Darius ran from his guild.

* * *

Lucy re-formed in The Gate, smiling. She had made Darius proud this time, she was sure of it! From now on, she wouldn't question his orders, never again. She would do her best for her Master, no matter what.

She climbed off her knees and stood up, only then noticing the other Spirits who were watching her.

Aries was sitting on one of the many benches, and looked miserable. Loke was standing, hands in his pockets, eyes shadowed. Virgo had a blank face and stood next to him. Aquarius looked like she was fuming, and was pacing before she'd come. Now they were all staring at Lucy like she'd collapse like broken china at any second.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Loke asked. She nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Lucy replied. Aries suddenly jumped up and ran to her, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Lucy! I tried to keep you here! I'm not very strong! What happened? Were you okay? I'm sorry!" she cried out, still hugging the blond.

Lucy grinned. "I'm fine, Aries. He was a mad, but for good reason. I was late, and he wasn't pleased. He took me to his guild."

"What does it look like? Do you know where it is? Any details you know can help us help you, Lucy." Loke said, worried. Aries had released her from their hug, looking scared.

"The guild is probably destroyed by now. It was attacked by Crime Sorcière." the blond answered.

"That guild of ex-criminals who destroy dark guilds?" Aquarius asked.

"Yes, them. I knew them from Fairy Tail. Jellal, Meredy and Ultear. I was fighting Jellal, and winning, but then my Master sent me back because he needed to leave and I had done my job. It made me proud, you know? To do something right for him. I should always want to do what my owner asks, right?" Lucy said, looking happy.

The Zodiacs weren't as happy though.

"Master?" Virgo repeated. "Why do you use that term, Princess?"

"Are you feeling okay, Lucy?" Aries asked her uncertainly.

"What did he do to you? You're acting different now. You hate him, remember?" Loke told her, but Lucy shook her head.

"No, I realized that I was wrong. I don't hate him. He's trying to help me become better, and by resisting, I only become worse. As my Master, he wants to help me become the best Spirit I can be, and when he gets mad, it's his frustration leaking through, because his hard work is failing. I have to show him that I want to be better!" she said stubbornly.

"But Princess, you don't need to be better." Virgo said, confused. Lucy scowled.

"You don't get it. I have to please him! When I do, I feel good, because I'm doing the right thing. He just wants me to be better, that's why he gets so angry, why he hurt me. I wasn't listening."

"Lucy, that's not true! Spirits aren't like tools, we are who we are. You're already a great Spirit, you don't need to be any better. He's just an evil owner who thinks you're a servant!" Loke shouted.

"We are servants. Virgo even dresses like a maid. My job is to do what is asked of me, and I will, Leo. You can't make me feel otherwise." the former mage said coldly, and walked past them angrily.

Aquarius sighed.

"It's not her fault, Leo. It's the nature of a Spirit. Deep in our souls, we crave approval. You're always saying that love makes Spirits strong, and you're right. When we don't get love, we change ourselves to get that love. It's why Aries always did her best to please your former master. You did too, for a while, until you realized that the love wouldn't ever come."

Aries cringed. Loke listened to Aquarius' words, feeling a heavy weight settle in his stomach. Virgo was silent.

"And now, it's why Lucy has changed herself. She realized that doing what he owner asks feels good inside, and her mind thought up the most logical thing it could in the small amount of time she had, and stuck with it. She thinks that her owner is trying to make her better, so she wants to please him. She wants his pride." the Water Spirit said sadly.

"How can we help Princess?" Virgo asked solemnly.

"I don't know." Loke said.

* * *

It wasn't surprising that the members of Fairy Tail and Yukino who went off towards Waas Forest were tracked down by Crime Sorcière, who'd been looking for them after being told at the guild that they were looking for Lucy.

"Crime Sorcière? Why are you guys here?" Natsu asked them.

"We recently found a dark guild, and were surprised to see Lucy of your guild there. Your Master explained the situation, so we'd like to help in any way we can." Ultear said, and instantly they were bombarded with questions.

Erza silenced them all with a glare, and looked at Jellal.

"Tell us what happened." she said, her voice sad.

Jellal explained how Ultear destroyed the guild with her magic, and while Jellal and Meredy were fighting the dark wizards, a blond mage had attacked the blue haired wizard with what he thought was a key, and he'd recognized her as Lucy.

"She looked sad when we fought at the beginning, but then her demeanour had changed without warning, and she fought with more power, holding less back. She nearly hit me a couple of times, but then, all of a sudden, I heard someone say something about a gate, and then she vanished into golden sparkles in front of me, like all Celestial Spirits do."

The group was silently contemplating his words, before Gray spoke up.

"Maybe she wasn't in control of herself?" he suggested. Meredy shook her own head.

"No, Celestial Spirits can only be controlled by a Doll Attack mage, and the key holder had to have been a Celestial mage." she said, cancelling out Gray's theory.

"Maybe she was being threatened." Levy suggested, and worried looks crossed the other Fairy Tail wizard's faces. They all knew of what Loke had told them, and the thought was disturbing.

"Let's not worry about that right now." Mirajane said. "We should work on finding Lucy's key holder and getting revenge."

Her face was an odd mix of sweetness and demon, so they decided to agree with her.

* * *

Lucy hadn't talked to any of them since they had spoken at The Gate, and had secluded herself from the other Zodiacs too. She had decided that she didn't need them, and hadn't left her house to see anyone, except when she was summoned, and had to return from The Gate.

Ever since the battle at the guild hall, Lucy had been summoned three times to fight against monsters as Darius travelled. Where, she didn't know, but he'd tell her if it was important for her to know. She did notice the colder weather though, and they seemed to be travelling north.

Lucy had tested out her key powers though, and was pleased at their strength.

Her keyring currently had 5 keys, 4 of which were Celestial Gate keys that connected the Celestial World to Earthland. She had felt a connection to them herself when they were given to her, a strange one, and now, she knew why.

She'd taken one off the keyring once, Phoenix the Fire Bird, just to study, and felt a strange heat flood through the arm the key was being held by. Thinking it might work like her own celestial key weapon, she'd swung it hesitantly, and a rush of flames followed the Silver Key in an arc.

She then switched it for Aquila the Eagle, and swiped the arm holding the key less timidly, creating a gust of wind that swept across the celestial space around her house. She could feel a lot of power from that one, and it reminded her of Wendy. The young Dragon Slayer was so tiny and innocent, but could do some terrifying damage to an unsuspecting opponent.

Lucy then tried using the Canis Minor key, but all it did was bring a sense of joy and contentment to her, and bring back memories of a small white dog.

Columba the Dove, on the other hand, sent out a pulse of energy when used. Lucy wasn't sure what it did, but she'd find out sooner or later.

The revelation of her strange ability to use some of her key's powers was surprising, but not illogical Her title _was_ The Key Holder, so why wouldn't her powers adapt to not only her magical key, but normal Celestial Keys? She'd always loved being connected with her Spirits, and this was just another way that she could be now.

* * *

Natsu was the first to pick up her scent when they finally got to the town. It was barely there, and masked by another smell, one he'd smelled on Celestial Spirits before, so it made sense that she'd smell like them too.

He'd pointed it out to Gajeel, but the other Slayer couldn't pick up the scent. Somehow, this resulted in a three-way fight between him, Gajeel, and Gray. (Actually, it was more like just him and Gray. Gajeel was booted out at one point by both of them.)

"What was that, Flame Brain?"

"You heard me, Ice Princess!"

"Take that back, Squinty Eyes!"

"Make me, Droopy Eyes!"

"Let's go, idiot!"

"Bring it, pervert!"

(This fight was ended by Erza, Mira, and Ultear. The three of them looked murderous, and said something so terrible, that no one will ever repeat it. Both Gray and Natsu were shivering in a dark corner afterwards.)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N _7/27/16_ : Okay I've been gone for way too long. If you must know, I've been struggling with my creativity, and it affected my life too. I couldn't write for school or do any sort of art. I was stuck. But it's summer and I've got loads of time right now, so I'm going to attempt to rekindle my flame here. Anything I post won't be consistent to any sort of schedule except my brain. I hope you guys understand.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail! If I did, things would have gone ****_very_** **differently. Basically, there'd be more shipping moments! ^_^**

* * *

They reached the small, nearly abandoned town two days later, Crime Sorcière leading the way. The guild building was, in fact, completely destroyed, thanks to Ultear's magic. All that was left to show that they'd been there was a guild mark drawn into the dirt with some sort of magic where the guild had been, probably by a member who'd escaped or returned to see their guild hall in shambles. The mark had been drawn deeply in the ground, like an echoing reminder. _We'll be back._

"This was the last place Lucy was seen?" Erza asked calmly, in the tone she reserved for speaking to clients and people of authority. Jellal nodded.

"Yes, this was the last place we'd seen her. She's probably long gone by now, though. We can assume that her key holder went northeast, at least for a bit, towards the mountains, before coming back south towards the closest civilization, Clover Town. He or she would need supplies to live, after all. It's far away, though, so they're probably still not too far from this area."

The red haired mage silently accepted his answer, and didn't say anything to them for a while. She muttered a few things under her breath, and seemed to be deciding something. Finally, she pointed at Mira, Meredy, Ultear, Gajeel, and Levy.

"I want you guys to form a group and go towards Clover Town, starting by moving eastward and then south. Search the entire area thoroughly, and use a communications lacrima to call for me if you find the dark mage, Mira."

Mira gave her a look, understanding her role as leader in this situation. Natsu and Gray, realizing that they were together on a team now, were butting heads and saying insults quietly.

"Natsu, Gray, Yukino and Jellal, I want you to follow me towards the mountains in the north. We'll search them up to the summit, then return to the bottom and go south towards Clover Town."

Jellal and Yukino seemed to be okay with this choice, but Natsu and Gray needed to be separated once more.

"Natsu, Gray, this is not the time to be fighting. We have a mission to do, and the two of you at each other's throats won't make this any easier." Erza said sternly as Mira's group went away. Yukino's face turned into a serious one, and she gave both of them an angry look as well.

"You need to stop fighting and save your energy for the real fight! We're trying to find Lucy, remember? We have to hurry and catch up to her key holder." the Celestial Wizard said, and both boys looked guilty, before nodding.

"Then let's go. We have a mountain to search." Jellal said, and they began walking towards the north.

* * *

Lucy had been having problems the more she interacted with Darius in the space of minutes for her. The more she did for him, the more she felt like she was losing herself in the role of a Spirit. When she thought about Fairy Tail, she could only name a handful of people now, like there was blanks in her memory.

She couldn't remember who the fourth Guild Master of Fairy Tail was, and the memory never came back. Once, she dreamed of a trio of Pegasus and great roaring Tigers and powerful Lamias and Mermaids and Puppies, but they faded away with her dreams and vanished from her mind.

Then, all she could remember were the people who were on Tenrou Island with her. Slowly, names and magical powers were leaving her mind. She remembered an Erza, but her magic was a mystery to Lucy now. She recalled a blue flying cat, but what was it's name?

A girl who read books, a man that ate iron and wooden dolls flying in circles. Fairy Queens and thunder, and a tiny man who was very friendly and wise.

The spaces scared her a lot, but since she had cut herself off from her former friends in the Celestial World, she couldn't go to them for help, even if they'd love to be of help to her. She didn't want them arguing with her.

So now she was in her home, struggling to recall fights between nameless people she knew that she loved, Fairies that danced in battle and had deep ties of friendship.

* * *

Loke flipped hurriedly through the large tomes in the dusty library of the Spirit library wasn't used often, but when there was contract issues or fine print that needed to be looked over, the library had the information you'd need.

Crux, the Southern Cross, had done most of the documenting here, and there was at least one page on every Celestial Wizard that ever existed and their key contracts, as well as the locations of lost keys, unknown territory in the Spirit World, and the history of the Spirit King and the royal family, as well as countless other things.

"There's got to be something in here about forcing a contract to be broken..." he muttered, turning page after page.

Aquarius came out of nowhere behind him, Scorpio staying back near the doors.

"Leo, you need to take a break. I was thinking that we should check up on Lucy anyway. Come on." the mermaid said, and grabbed the collar of his suit from behind and tugged.

"I can't though Aquarius," Loke said, pulling free of her grip. "I've got to keep looking for something, anything that will help her. She's my friend-"

He was cut off by Aquarius.

"Leo, don't start with that. She's my friend too, but the answer isn't here. If it was, we wouldn't be stuck in contracts for decades that we don't want. If there is an answer, it's in Earthland, so keeping yourself cooped up in this library isn't going to help. Now come with me to Lucy with Scorpio."

Relenting, Loke closed the book he was looking through and followed her out.

* * *

Darius could tell he was being followed, although by who he wasn't exactly sure. He could sense the heavy magical presences nearby, and it made him speed up his pace and take a zigzagged route through the trees in the hope of losing his pursuers.

By nightfall, he was exhausted, and still felt them closing in on him. So, looking around wildly, he scowled.

"I know you're there. Show yourselves already!"

Five shadows came into the moonlight, their formation surrounding him.

"You must be Darius then. You definitely look like a Celestial Wizard. And the keys are kinda a giveaway." said one shadow, slightly short.

"You must have fled the guild hall when Crime Sorcière appeared. Smart plan, but you didn't factor in one thing," a different shadow spoke gruffly, definitely male.

All five shadows got into a battle position.

"You didn't plan for us to be here."

* * *

Erza's group was pretty high up in the mountains by nightfall, since she pushed them to move quickly. From their viewpoint in a small mountain cavern, the moon illuminated the forest down below.

Which is why they saw the explosion in the distance, and felt the powerful magical signatures all the way from their spot.

"That's not us," Gray said, getting up from his spot, Natsu following. The magic wasn't anything identifiable as Fairy Tail or Crime Sorcière.

"It's not all Celestial Magic either, the signature isn't right. It's a fight." Yukino said.

"Looks like our target has other followers than us." Jellal said quietly, slightly worried and slightly curious. The power was strong.

"Let's hurry back down the mountain then. Go towards the magical power in the distance. Move as quickly as possible but stick together!" Erza shouted out, and the group was moving hastily.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello hello! Guess what? I can now write fanfiction on my phone! the FFN app is awesome! ^_^ (also my texting skills with this tiny keyboard are going to increase...)**

 **A/N: Okay so I'm back to writing with the computer since my phone's not really working... -_-**

 _ **Also thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far because looking through them today encouraged me to get back to writing this chapter. It really made me feel better knowing that so many of you out there liked this story and really wanted more. So, thank you.**_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, all that END hype wouldn't have died out like that. I mean seriously, the big reveal and them it's like "Let's just forget this ever happened!"**

* * *

Ultear could sense the vast amount of magic power nearby, and from the way the rest of her patty stiffened, it wasn't just her either.

"From the faces you're making, I'll assume that you noticed that. Is it from anyone in the other group?" she asked, her voice calm.

The blue haired girl, Levy she recalled, shook her head. "This isn't any magic that I can identify as Fairy Tail's." she said quietly. Gajeel huffed in agreeance.

"We should investigate it quickly then. Nothing good ever comes from ignoring problems when they appear. Let's hurry." Ultear stated in a colder voice, and the small group followed her as she tracked the magical signature.

* * *

Darius whipped out a silver key from his set and held it firmly in his grip. It glowed a rusty red colour as he called out as fast as he could:

"Open, Gate of the Red Shield! Scutum!"

With a flash of golden light, a large armoured knight appeared, dressed in full battle attire. The thick, heavy Celestial armour was blood red and the knight carried a shield almost as large as itself on it's arm. The Spirit had a helmet completely covering it's face, and a visor pulled down with small slits where golden eyes stared outwards.

One of the hooded figures reached into their cloak, one of the male ones, and drew a shining sword that glowed with golden light.

"A Celestial weapon?" Darius muttered in shock.

The items were far more than rare; only a handful of wizard had ever even seen one, let alone possessed one. They were priceless items from the Spirit World itself and usually the only way to possess one was to have it given to you by a Spirit or steal it from one, as once it was touched by a mortal it would no longer vanish when the Spirit itself did unless reclaimed and then purified in the Celestial World.

"You should feel honoured that I'm showing you this sword in battle," the person said smugly. "It is the sword of Draco, and as long as I hold this sword, each of my attacks will hit without fail. You should surrender now because you have no hope of success."

Darius growled in challenge.

"I'll never surrender in a fight. I may be a Dark Wizard but I have my own pride to protect."

The mysterious figure seemed to pity him for only a second before he swung the sword of Draco in a slash that left a glowing trail of light behind it. But the attack met with a heavenly chime of metal as two Celestial metals met, the sword and Scutum's shield.

"Scutum is an impenetrable defence. Your attacks may strike, but they'll never hit me, and that is certain." Darius said, before pulling another Spirit Key out, looking a bit tired. Holding two Gates open wasn't a light feat, but he'd had a bit of practise, and once out the gold key made up for it quickly in her power.

Unlinking another key from the ring, he held the shiny gold key out, prepared for the magical drain.

"Open, Gate of the Key Holder! Lucy!"

With another flash, the blond was out as well, looking ready to battle. Scutum blocked another strike with relative ease, and Lucy raced forward and swung her own weapong, the Celestial Key on her keyring, and it let out a pulse of energy that pushed the hooded man back towards his allies.

Scutum and Lucy then got into a defensive position in front of Darius, ready to defend any hit that came at them.

Their opponent seemed to grin wickedly.

"Looks like this will be more fun than I anticipated. Shall we dance then?"

* * *

Thanks to Gray's brilliant quick thinking, Erza's group was riding down the mountain side on a giant slide, which although was not warmest, it did get the job done. Within 10 minutes they were at the bottom and rushing toward the growing magical presence.

Erza signalled them to halt as they arrived at the edge of a clearing. She walked forwards slowly, glancing between the branches of the clusters of trees to see what was going on.

Four hooded figures stood to the side silently while a fifth was in battle with a knight in red armour and a girl with blond hair while another person, a man, stood behind the duellists.

 _Lucy! That's Lucy!_ Erza though, her eyes fixated on the blond girl as she attacked the hooded person with glowing light.

Turning back to her group, she nodded at them to come closer. They all took in the same sight Erza did, and Erza herself had to cover Natsu's mouth when he recognized his partner. Jellal looked at the red haired wizard.

 _"You have a plan?"_ his lips mouthed. She nodded, and a sword of her own Requiped into her hand. Then, with reflexes faster than any other, she jumped out of the trees and intercepted the attack of the cloaked person's sword, before expertly twisting her own weapon to force him to drop the blade.

Taking this as their cue, Natsu and Gray jumped out and got into a battle stance, while Yukino and Jellal came out of the shadows much calmer.

The other four figures didn't move at all, only staring down the wizards as everyone was in a deadlock.

Until the fifth person decided to speak.

"So the Fairies have arrived with a Tiger and a fugitive in tow? Interesting." he said, eyes looking at their guild marks. When he attempted to pick up his weapon, Erza's blade shifted to his throat while her foot stepped on the sword and slide it backwards towards her allies, where Jellal picked it up.

The mystery person scowled.

"How dare you lay your hands on my sword. Release it now and I may not spill your blood with it." he said, the threatening undertone sending shivers through them all, but Jellal held tight to the sword.

"I suggest you leave now before you invoke our wrath." the Heavenly Body user said in his most dangerous voice.

Before the sword user could reply, one of the others behind him grabbed his shoulder.

"We will be back, Fairy Tail." the other person, a woman, said quietly.

Then, in unison, they vanished.

* * *

"You people are from Fairy Tail?" the man behind the red knight asked suddenly, looking like he was ready to flee.

"We are. And you're a Celestial Wizard right?" Gray said cooly. Natsu's attention was on the man as well, but focused more on the two keys held in either hand, one silver and one gold.

"You stole Lucy's key from the guild hall, didn't you. You're the one! Darius!" Natsu said, his fists alighting in flames. Gray was much calmer, but the air dropped a couple of degrees. Erza, Jellal and Yukino were watching now too, prepared to fight.

Darius scoffed.

"Finders keepers, Pinky. I just took advantage of that Celestial Wizard of your's death to collect some new units. It's unfortunate I only got one, but that Spirt is powerful and a better weapon than my other Spirits anyway." he said. Natsu growled, his canines showing.

"Give Lucy's key back. It belongs with us at the guild, not with a jerk like you!" he shouted.

Darius laughed.

"Like I'd give you one of my keys."

He waved his hand towards Lucy, who looked at him patiently. No, she was waiting for _orders_.

"Take out as many of these wizards as you can. Don't hold back anything." he said coldly, and Lucy nodded, her eyes not even questioning it.

"Lucy, it's us. Don't listen to him!" Yukino said, watching as the key in Lucy's hand began to glow brightly.

"That's what she used to attack me at that guild hall," Jellal said to Erza, who's head moved slightly to show her acknowledgement.

Her arm swiped at Gray and released a pulse of energy, and as the Ice Mage put up a quick ice shield to defend, it lasted just long enough before shattering.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted. "What are you doing?"

But the blond's eyes only narrowed as her key began glowing brighter, a bright white with hints of Celestial gold. She jabbed it towards Natsu with a yell.

"STAR STRIKE!"

A beam of gold light shot out at the Dragon Slayer, and Natsu dived to the ground to avoid it. The attack hit a tree behind him and snapped it in half like a toothpick. She'd grown in power since before, practising her magical powers.

Erza, not seeing much of a choice, leapt into the battle and used her sword to deflect Lucy's key from hitting her. The pulses it released made the air tingle with Spirit energy.

"Lucy, why are you attacking your guild mates like this? We are nakama!" Erza said, blocking another hit.

Lucy looked at her with a frown.

"I don't understand what you are talking about, but I must protect my master from harm. It's my duty as a Celestial Spirit to fight to the best of my abilities and I cannot lose this battle."

Erza looked confused.

"Your master? He stole your key from us! Your friends!" she said, her voice unwavering. Lucy backed up, looking angered.

"I don't have friends. I thought Leo was my friend, but his views did not match mine. He has forgotten that we as Spirits are meant to be used by our key holders as tools in battle, not _friends_." she spat the word out bitterly.

"My only goal now is to defeat you all."

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for now! Honestly this plot is growing a bit bigger than planned from the start. I don't even know what I was thinking with those mysterious people! But I've got a plan, although it extends my story a bit more than originally thought. XD**

 **Anyway, I'll see if I can pop another chapter out soon. I'm doing some volunteer work this week so I'll be busy, but we'll see! ;-)**

 **~ Ty8 ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello guys! Seeing so many people following and favouriting this story makes me really happy! I never expected this kind of response, although I've never written for Fairy Tail fans before either. Anyways, I'm very, very happy! I posted Chapter 10 and then I had five new followers the next day it was amazing!**

 **So although I've been having trouble I'm going to push myself to write for this story. I** ** _will_** **finish it for you guys, I promise. It may take a little bit of time, but I** **won't** **give up again.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did,  Crime Sorcière would have joined up with Fairy Tail a long time ago. I mean, I get that they couldn't really be a part of Fairy Tail after everything that they did and the fact that the Magic Council was after them, but we never see Crime Sorcière anymore! I love those guys, and they're never there! At least if they were part of Fairy Tail they'd be in the background of the guild hall.**

* * *

.

 _"What's the point of magic to begin with if I can't use it to save my friends?"_

.

.

.

Lucy glared at her enemies, watching them carefully, her senses dulled by Earthland's atmosphere but still strong enough to detect slight movements. She now waited for them to make a move, although they all seemed very hesitant to attack. It confused her a bit, but she didn't focus on it.

"Lucy please, none of us want to hurt you. You have to remember us. We're your friends." Yukino pleaded.

Natsu agreed, adding in his own words. "Being a Celestial Spirit may have made your memory foggy, but your heart will always remember! You can't forget us Luce! I won't let you!"

He ran forward to her, and she swung at him again with her key, but he ducked under the attack and pulled her into - a _hug_?

His own arms pinned her to her side and she found herself struggling to break free, while also trying to understand why he did this.

"Let me go!" she shouted.

"No. We're your nakama. Fairy Tail is your nakama. I will make you remember that."

In a swift, fluid movement, Yukino joined the hug, wrapping her own arms around Lucy too. Erza moved towards them too and grabbed Gray's arm to pull him in by force.

Jellal watched from farther back, his eyes cautiously met by Darius' as he gave his best "Erza Look", warning him not to move at all.

Lucy couldn't get free from them, and Darius was silently trying to find a way to get the fairies to let go of his Spirit. He reached a conclusion easily.

"Lucy! Force Gate Closure now!"

With slight hesitance, Lucy was quickly sent back, vanished in an instant.

"Hey! You evil bastard! Bring Lucy back!" Natsu yelled, his head snapping around to face the dark wizard.

Darius scowled.

"You fairies have no right to interfere in a Celestial Wizard's contract and the contracted Spirit. I don't know what your problem is, but I am the owner of this key and, as such, I decide what happens with this Spirit. So back off or I'll have to do real damage." he said coldly, and for a second, he actually radiated a bit of a "scary" aura.

For only a second, after all.

Yukino's own aura of confidence and anger overpowered his own easily, and she looked at Darius with a smirk.

" _They_ may have no business interfering, but as a Celestial Wizard with contracts of my own, the Celestial World and it's laws are accessible to me as well as you. Also, as an owner of two of the Zodiac Spirits, I've got a _lot_ more power than you do involving Celestial matters."

She held out both of her Zodiac keys, pointing them both straight at Darius. They glowed with a surge of magic, the power of the Spirits leaking through their gates and trying to grab ahold of the dark wizard. Spirits had a sense of good owners and bad, and they could feel the darkness of Darius' ownership coming from him in waves.

"Are you threatening me?" Darius asked the Sabertooth wizard. She grinned.

"I'm pretty sure I've succeeded too. Now, surrender your keys and get down on the ground, or I'll have to call in my _friends_."

* * *

Darius, having no choice anymore, relinquished all four of his keys to the opposing wizards with a dark look at them all.

Natsu immediately pulled Lucy's off the ring and held it for a few minutes before handing it delicately to Yukino.

"Will you summon her? Break her bond or whatever to that guy?" he asked, growling slightly at the end of the sentence.

"Of course. One moment!" she replied.

Turning to an open area in the small clearing, Yukino got into a summoning stance.

"I call upon thee, in the world of the celestial spirits. I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the gate!"'

With a surge of magical power, Yukino and the entire area around her glowed with a golden light.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jellal picked up the sword that'd been forgotten earlier.

The Sword of Draco, as it was so named, was made of a pure, light metal that glinted slightly. The metal itself was probably the lightest shade of grey he'd ever seen, with a silver tint to it that sparkled. Engraved along the blade was a Chinese dragon that stretched from hilt to tip, spiralled in a graceful design. The hilt of the sword was pure gold, no gems or other items to embellish the sword.

Draco's sword was not very heavy, but when it moved, a trail of golden light followed, similar to Lucy's key. Jellal studied it for a few moments, swishing it through the air a couple times, before walking over towards Erza and tapping her shoulder lightly.

The red haired warrior turned around, and Jellal planted the sword hilt-up into the ground.

"The sword is of fine quality, but I don't believe I could wield it as well as a true swordsman could. Would you like to add it to your collection?" he said smoothly. Erza's face turned pink.

"Well, I- uh, guess if you believe it would be best, then I will take possession of it. It is a truly masterful blade. the craftsmanship looks very well done." she said, her confidence growing slightly as she grasped the hilt and lifted the blade up to inspect it better.

"It is," Jellal agreed, and they left it at that.

* * *

Lucy returned to The Gate quickly after the forced gate closure, and found herself completely confused.

"Lucy! Are you okay?"

It was Leo again, and the others were with him.

"Leo? Why are you here? Why are all of you here?" she asked, for once too drained to be upset.

"We are all checking up on you, brat. You weren't at your house so we waited here for your return." Aquarius said.

Lucy started to regain her senses, but just as she was getting to her feet, she felt a weird tingling feeling, like when she was traveling between this world and Earthland.

"What's happening?" she mumbled, but then, out of nowhere, a sudden flash of power, _someone else's power_ , was calling for her through the gate. From Earthland.

The tugging feeling was soft, gentle, as if it was coaxing her. The magic was completely different from the pull of Darius' magic.

"Someone's calling for me. I have to go." she said, her voice detached from her thoughts, which were racing.

"Someone? Someone else?" Leo said, questioning her words. She nodded, before letting the magic guide her out of the Spirt World.

Back to Earthland.


End file.
